Juan Luis Galiardo Movies

The drama Clandestinos tells the story of a young man who wishes to prove himself worthy of joining a terrorist organization by staging a bloody attack. Xabi has spent more time in jail and reformatories than free since becoming a teenager. During one of his short stints on the outside, he comes under the tutelage of terrorist Inaki, a man who teaches Xabi a great deal of things about his politics. When Xabi escapes from jail with the help of two fellow inmates, the three make their way to Madrid in order to hatch a plan that will show Inaki's group they are worthy of membership. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Chilean director Valeria Sarmiento weaves a tale of love, betrayal, and civil unrest centering around a nightclub in 1950s pre-Communist Cuba in her 2002 romantic drama Rosa La China. Notorious businessman Santiago Ordenez (Juan Luis Galiardo), who primarily goes by the nickname Dulzara, operates a high-profile club/casino with the protection of some local politicians with whom he has dubious relationships. A large portion of the club's success is due to its star singer, Rosa (Luisa Maria Jiminez), who also happens to be Dulzara's lover. Rosa, however, has recently started into another affair with a somewhat younger womanizer named Marcos (Abel Rodriguez). As romantic alliances begin and end, political alliances also begin to shift as Cuba's people begin moving towards revolution, which will a profound affect on Dulzara's club and his way of life. Rosa La China was selected for inclusion into the 2002 Venice Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

The third installment of director Jose Luis Garcia Sanchez's state-of-Spain trilogy, which began in 1995 with Whispers of Spain (and Portugal). Roguish Juan (Juan Luis Galiardo) lives by himself, eking out a dubious living from gambling money and blackmailing various women who were once his lovers, one of whom is Alicia (Teresa Gimpera). When Caty (Laura Ramos), a would-be athlete, materializes on Juan's doorstep one day claiming to be his daughter by a tryst in Havana 20 years earlier, Juan finds the order of his daily existence thrown into peril. Caty is in search of Spanish residence, and is helped in her quest by Pepe (Juan Echanove), a cop who has recently been left by Juan's other daughter Carmela (Neus Asensi) -- for Tony (Pedro Miguel Martinez), a bisexual hairdresser. The plot twists again when Juan is contacted by Alicia's husband, a sleazy crook by the name of Pozueta (Jesus Bonilla), who wants Juan to go to jail in his place. Pozueta is smitten with Caty and offers to marry her but must get a divorce in order to do so, thus arranges a deal with Juan to record Alicia in bed with her new lover. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

In this sequel to the acclaimed Sighs of Spain (and Portugal) (1995), two picaros, slick Juan (Juan Luis Galiardo) and his innocent pal Pepe (Juan Echanove) return to Spain with Angelica (Rosa Maria Sarda) and Carmela (Neus Asensi). Pepe and Juan, both in love with the same woman, are on the brink of suicide when they are invited by TV-host Lanzagorta (Javier Gurruchaga) to tell their story on his show, "There Is Always a Right Way." In a series of flashbacks from the TV studio, Lanzagorta leads his viewers through a morass of misery in a materialist society as experienced by Juan and Pepe, as he turns their suffering into mass entertainment. Filmed in the poverty-stricken back alleys of Madrid. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

This Spanish comedy set in a Valencia prison, contains political overtones. A promoter decides to organize a gala dinner to pay tribute to the political prisoners. Naturally the media is invited to the event. Every one at the dinner comes with his or her own agenda and it isn't long before anything that can go wrong does go wrong. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this sex farce, two eccentric manufacturing families from far-flung regions of Spain have come to Madrid in order to try and influence a government ministry's decision about who will make a particular set of Army uniforms. The man of the house, in one of the families, has married into it purely as a business arrangement. His current extramarital arrangement is with the family company's lovely female lawyer. Meanwhile, his decidedly odd wife has been experiencing sexual ecstasies while reading self-help books, and her sister has been passing the years by longing for the return of an old lover, a political radical she lost track of years ago. It turns out that the former radical is now the government minister they all hope to influence, and the minister's assistant is intensely interested in his old flame, the sister. The competing family head is also pursuing the sister in the other family, under the mistaken impression that she is the adulterous lawyer. Meanwhile, a transformation is taking place with the do-it-yourself addicted wife. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

According to Spanish legend, every All Souls Eve, the ghost of the legendary lover Don Juan Tenorio rises up from purgatory to walk the earth in hopes of doing the single good deed necessary for him to be freed from limbo. Unfortunately, though Don Juan has risen 450 times since his death, he has yet to succeed. This erotic Spanish comedy begins on the last day in October in 1990 and chronicles the great lover's latest try. Though times keep changing, Don Juan's distinctive garb does not and he seems out of place on the streets of modern Seville. Luckily, he stumbles across a local production of the play Don Juan. The temperamental actor happens to look just like the real Don Juan and a mix-up leads to the real McCoy playing himself on stage. The other cast members are puzzled at the sudden change in the lead actor from arrogant, egotistical cad to amiable charmer. He goes on to give a stunning performance. Meanwhile, the actor gets his own comeuppance at the hands of a beautiful robber. Things really get to hopping later in the evening at the cast party when both the actor and the real Don are there at the same time. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In Havana, a group of professional stage actors are rehearsing a play. This drama follows their activities onstage and off. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

With a message that is certainly slanted to one side, this engaging and well-wrought drama by Antonio Gimenez-Rico attacks the political and intellectual life as so much demagoguery and pedantry, and contrasts politics with the wisdom of a rustic country peasant. The story is told in flashbacks, as the recently widowed wife of a Socialist politician (Juan Luis Galiardo) meets with a successful congressman for lunch. Her late husband retired in 1977 after visiting a small and remote village and talking to a man who lived there. Mayor Cayo (Francisco Rabal), and his wife and lone dog live in one house in the village. The only other house is occupied by a man that Cayo has not associated with for many years. As the Socialist politician debates with Cayo (trying to get his vote) the peasant-mayor debunks politics in general. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The angst of middle age attacks an otherwise level-headed advertising executive in this routine drama from Jaime Camino. The unhappy ad man punches out a traffic cop in the middle of yet another exasperating gridlock and ends up on the wrong side of a set of bars to cool his ardor for awhile. After he gets out, he makes friends with a bank robber and brings him home, where long involved exchanges with his wife do nothing to help him make up his mind about his mid-life crisis. Meandering from pillar to post, both the ad exec and the script seem to have become lost at sea. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Fortunately, the engineer in this movie never gets around to marrying his pregnant American girlfriend in the church or her their subsequent divorce would have left him in no position to remarry. Ironically, when he proposes to his new girlfriend, a nurse, she confesses to being separated from her spouse, and he must -- as both a loving man and a good Catholic -- live in sin with her. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi