Luis Tosar

An clever but somewhat aimless twenty-five year old finds a weekend trip to the country suddenly threatening to determine the outcome of his entire life in the sophomore feature from Spanish filmmaker Max Lemcke. Imported to Spain from the USA, Casual Day is a company practice in which the employer tries to improve interpersonal relationships among employees and improve performance by allowing them to exchange their suits for casual attire on the last day of the work week. Some companies even go so far as to organize day trips or other less conventional activities to help keep morale high. Up to this point in his life, Ruy has never really had to answer to anyone; now it appears that those carefree days might be nearing an end. Ruy's girlfriend's father José has hand selected the quick thinking twenty-five year old for the most important job in the whole company. Retirement is drawing near for José, and when that day finally comes he wants Ruy to take over the business. But despite the fact that Ruy isn't sure he's ready to accept that kind of responsibility at this point in his life, rejecting José's offer could jeopardize his relationship with his devoted girlfriend Inéz and perhaps his entire future. Now, as Ruy and his co-workers board the bus for what was supposed to be a simple trip into the country, the crushing weight of responsibility suddenly turns a carefree outing into a monumental exercise in life decision-making. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Writer and director Michael Mann updates the groundbreaking television crime series he created in the 1980s with this stylish thriller. Ricardo Tubbs (Jamie Foxx) and Sonny Crockett (Colin Farrell) are two police detectives working undercover in Florida; Tubbs is smart, cool, and resourceful, while Crockett has his own way of doing things, though he stays close enough to the rules to stay out of trouble. Their latest assignment is to get the goods on Arcangel de Jesus Montoya (Luis Tosar), a local drug kingpin whose men are believed to be responsible for a handful of recent murders. In order to infiltrate Montoya's operation, Tubbs and Crockett pose as powerboat racers willing to use their talents to pilot drug-smuggling ships for the right price. The detectives' ruse works, but as they dig deeper into Montoya's inner circle, they become involved in a dangerous operation that will take them to Haiti and Cuba, where neither the Miami Police Force nor the United States government can help them if things go wrong. Crockett also begins walking a risky path when he begins an affair with Isabella (Gong Li), a woman high up in Montoya's organization. Miami Vice marked Michael Mann's third consecutive directorial effort with Jamie Foxx after Ali and Collateral. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

La Vida Que te Espera stars Juan Diego as Gildo, a farmer who becomes the prime suspect of the authorities when an associate of his is murdered. His rural life does not appeal to his two daughters, and their lack of enthusiasm is compounded when the son of the dead man arrives with motives of his own. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Spanish actress/author/filmmaker Icíar Bollaín writes and directs the family drama Te Doy Mis Ojos (Take My Eyes), co-written by Alicia Luna. Pilar (Laia Marull) leaves her abusive husband, Antonio (Luis Tosar), during the middle of winter in Toledo, Spain. She and her son, Juan (Nicolás Fernández Luna), go to live with her sister Ana (Candela Peña). While supportive, Ana doesn't fully understand Pilar's situation. Pilar's mother, Aurora (Rosa María Sardà), refuses to acknowledge the problem. Antonio is desperate to win back Pilar. He sends her constant presents and even attends therapy sessions in order to work through his anger. Meanwhile, Pilar gets a job at an art museum and tries to restart her life. Take My Eyes won several awards at the San Sebastian Film Festival before making its U.S. premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Set in the Spanish port city of Vigo, Fernando León de Aranoa's Mondays in the Sun is a touching drama about a group of working-class men who find themselves suddenly unemployed and unwanted in their middle age. Laid off from the local shipyard, the men spend their days at the town bar, where they reminisce, philosophize, and commiserate about their current state. Gruff Santa (a bearded Javier Bardem) puts up a tough front, refusing to sink into self-pity, and occasionally pricking his friends' hopes. Morose José (Luis Tosar) openly worries about his wife, whom he fears might leave him. That seems to have been the fate of Amador (Celso Bugallo), the oldest of the bunch, who keeps reassuring everyone that his wife will be back any day now from her trip. Meanwhile, Lino (José Ángel Egido) refuses to give up hope of employment, going to interview after interview for jobs being offered to applicants half his age. Presiding over the glum bunch is Rico (Joaquín Climent), the bar owner and the men's co-worker from the shipyard days. Despite its depressing subject and downbeat mood, Mondays in the Sun was a big winner at the 2003 Goya Awards, Spain's equivalent of the Oscars, winning Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Bardem. The film was also Spain's surprise representative for the 2003 Oscars' Foreign Language film category, nabbing the distinction over Pedro Almodóvar's critically lauded Talk to Her. ~ Elbert Ventura, All Movie Guide

Two of Spain's biggest female stars headline this offbeat comedy about the battle of wills between good and evil. Heaven is not getting its fair share of business for the afterlife, so Lola (Victoria Abril), an angel who sings in a nightclub located beyond the pearly gates, is sent to Earth to drum up business by her boss, Marina (Fanny Ardant). Her first prospect is Manny (Demián Bichir), a prizefighter with an injury that could take his life at any time. As Lola tries to claim Manny's soul for the Lord, the wicked Jack Davenport (Gael García Bernal) believes that the Devil deserves the boxer's soul, and he sends one of Hell's waitresses, Carmen (Penélope Cruz), to seal the deal. On Earth, Lola takes the form of Manny's former love and urges him to mend fences with his mother, while seductive Carmen tries to persuade Manny to return to the ring, knowing that another fight would mean his death. While Lola and Carmen wage war over Manny's soul, they maintain their cover by working at a grocery store, where they both learn a few lessons about the pitfalls of earthly capitalism. Meanwhile, Manny is dealing with financial problems of his own -- he owes money to the city's corrupt police commissioner (Emilio Gutiérrez Caba), who is using his strong-arm men to "persuade" Manny to pay up. Released in Europe as Sin Noticias de Dios (which translates as No News From God), Don't Tempt Me was a box-office success in Spain when it was released in late 2001, though it wouldn't reach American theaters until 2003. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this downbeat drama, Lena (Marta Larralde) is an 18-year-old who has grown up in a seaside town on the northeast coast of Spain; while fishing was once the backbone of the local economy, the bay no longer produces a good catch, and now the community is largely supported by trade in illegal drugs. Gorrion (Manuel Manquina), Lena's father, works as a runner for a small-time drug cartel, which includes Gypsy (Luis Toser), Gorrion's close friend and Lena's godfather; Milio (Roberto Alvarez), a strong but tight-lipped young man; and Portuguese immigrant Cachero (Vitor Norte). Gorrion has a serious drinking problem and is not considered especially reliable by either Lena or his partners in crime; he is beaten when the crew suspects he's skimming money from the take, and while Lena had a good change of gaining a college scholarship, Gorrion botched it when he failed to submit the proper forms to the financial aid office. Resigned to paying off her father's debt to the mob, Lena offers to work for the local smugglers, and she soon becomes friendly with Milio, who displays the strength and cunning her father lacks. Eventually, Lena throws in her lot with Milio, and they decide to hop a ship to Portugal. Lena was the first feature film for director Gonzalo Tapia, and it also marked the professional acting debut of leading lady Marta Larralde. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This coming-of-age drama is set in Cadiz, a town in Southern Spain, in 1965, as the nation was entering its final decade of Fascist rule. Ramon (Eloy Azorin), Nicolas (Inaki Font), and Alfonso (Roberto Hoyas) are three friends whose parents have sent them to Cadiz so that they can study without distraction for their medical school entrance exams. But distraction finds them in the form of four young women from a ragtag local dance troupe, Marian (Chusa Barbero), Vicky (Emma Suarez), Perla (Beatriz Bergamin), and Chon (Ana Malaver). The girls supplement their meager wages as dancers by turning tricks on the side, but they soon become quite friendly with the fresh-faced boys from the North, and tart-tongued Vicki becomes involved with Ramon, the most innocent and sheltered of the three, much to the amazement of Nicolas and Alfonso. Soon Vicky gives Ramon a crash course in the mysteries of women, but Ramon finds out the hard way that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing; Vicky announces she's pregnant, and Ramon isn't sure about what to do, especially since he has a girlfriend at home -- the tense and high-strung Rocio (Pilar Lopez de Ayala). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story, Flores de Otro Mundo is a film about rural life in present-day Spain. A little village with no women and no future organizes a big bachelors' party to which all the single women of the neighborhood are invited. Patricia from the Dominican Republic who has no ID, Milady from Havana who is dying to travel all around the world and Basque Mariroso find themselves on the 'bus of hope' chartered by the village. What follows is a story of social integration and male/female relationships. Director Iciar Bollain is well-known for her career as a leading actress in over 15 films, particularly Victor Erice's El Sur, Manuel Gutierrez Aragon's Malaventura, and Ken Loach's Land and Freedom. Her first film, Hola, Estas sola? (1995), won several international awards. The film was screened in the International Critics' Week of the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide