Pilar López de Ayala Movies

This Spanish drama takes an unblinking look at the grim realities of life among Madrid's economically and spiritually underprivileged underclass. David (Unax Ugalde) is a homeless man who struggles to get by with the help of his friends -- dope-dealing Carlos (Juan Diaz), cheerful but misguided Abundio (Fede Celada), and half-bright Titanlux (Benjamin Seva). One day, David meets a beautiful woman, Maria (Pilar Lopez de Ayala), and is immediately smitten. He sets out to earn her affections, and as Maria is charmed by David's ardor (as well as his poetry), she quits her job at a diner to be with him. David and Maria move in to Carlos's apartment, but Carlos's girlfriend Elena (Beatriz Sanchez) is not at all happy with their presence and asks them to leave. Desperate to earn some money, David makes the acquaintance of Facundo (Antonio Dechent), a high-level drug dealer who supplies Carlos with his product. Facundo recruits David as a new salesman and he starts pushing heroin on the streets, quickly making enough money to afford an apartment for Maria and himself. But Maria is eager to make some extra money of her own, and when she meets Veronica (Beatriz Arguello), a prostitute living in their building, she follows her lead and is soon turning tricks on the side; when David finds out about her new career, he soon turns to heroin to ease his heartbreak. Bailame El Agua's soundtrack features the song "But By Your Side" by Los Secretos -- grimly ironic, since vocalist Enrique Urquijo, who helped write the song, died of a drug overdose by the time the film appeared in Spanish theaters. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

With his gentle ensemble comedy Bienvenido a casa (aka Welcome Home), Spanish director David Trueba meditates on one man's passage from youth to the emotional maturity of adulthood. In the process, Trueba takes a wise and reflective look at the dynamics of contemporary relationships, romantic and otherwise. Alejo Sauras is Samuel, an aspiring photographer who makes the broad leap from his rural village in the Spanish countryside -- where he lives under the thumb of his domineering mother -- to the wonderland of urban Madrid. He moves in with his girlfriend, Eva (Pilar Lopez de Ayala), and accepts a position as resident photojournalist for a local culture magazine, where his eccentric colleagues include a slightly embittered, blind movie critic (with a blind guide dog), a burnt-out sports columnist, and a depressed vocalist/instrumentalist who pens the music column. Through the various employees, Trueba reveals a spectrum of attitudes toward love and romance. The remainder of the story finds Samuel teaming up with the magazine's reporter, Sandra, for an investigative story on a murder related to human trafficking. Meanwhile, Samuel begins to grapple, privately, with problems in his marital life -- specifically, how to preserve the love, romance, and devotion he feels for Eva (and she for him). Samuel's watchful mother cautions him not to repeat the same mistakes that she once made -- but the past comes back to haunt Samuel in the guise of a fateful encounter with a childhood friend, Nieves. Then, suddenly, Eva announces her pregnancy. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Emilio Martinez-Lazaro's historical drama Las 13 Rosas (AKA 13 Roses) commences in 1939 Madrid. As the forces of nationalist general Francisco Franco sweep down into the city and bombs cascade onto Spanish buildings, two Republicans - Red Cross employee Virtudes (Marta Etura) and streetcar attendant Julia (Veronica Sanchez) - sit in a club watching a live set by two musicians: the Communist Canepa (Enrico Lo Verso), and Enrique (Asier Etxeandia), the husband of Blanca (Pilar Lopez de Ayala). Sensing obvious trouble given the country's circumstances, Canepa opts to flee for his life - receiving some fiscal support from Blanca - and a romance blossoms between Julia and Perico (Felix Gomez), a soldier from Franco's forces. Meanwhile, unrest and extreme distrust run rampant among the nationalists. Hungry for scapegoats - despite the lack of conclusive evidence - the troops respond to a rumor about a plot to rub out Franco by rounding up the 13 innocent young women of the title, including Julia, the socialist Adelina (Gabriella Pession) and 11 others - who are collectively imprisoned, given trial and slated for execution for treasonous activity. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

In this stylish exercise in magic realism, Isaac (Ricardo Trêpa) is a photographer who is contacted during a stormy night with an urgent assignment. Isaac is escorted to the estate of a wealthy family, where he's told of a recent tragedy -- the beautiful daughter of the household, Angélica (Pilar López de Ayala), died shortly after her wedding, before her bridal portrait could be taken. Her parents want a final photograph of Angélica, and they've brought Isaac to their home to take the pictures. Angélica has been laid out on a sofa in the living room, still wearing her wedding gown, and as Isaac looks at her through his viewfinder, he's struck by her beauty and thinks she looks as if she's just sleeping. Isaac is so effected by Angélica that he quickly falls in love with her, and when he looks at her through his camera, she comes to life, with her spirit as lively as ever in the photos he prints, though her body stubbornly stays lifeless. O Estranho Caso de Angélica (aka The Strange Case of Angelica) was the ninth directorial project in five years from filmmaker Manoel de Oliveira, a workload all the more remarkable given his age -- he was 101 years old when O Estranho Caso de Angélica made its debut at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A mysterious beast stalks innocent children in this thriller from Spanish director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. In the 1980s, Juan (Izan Corchero) is a young boy with an active imagination and a talent for writing stories. However, he is being terrorized by a strange creature that lurks in his room late at night and doesn't seem to have a face. Juan's mother Luisa (Pilar Lopez de Ayala) is skeptical at first, but comes to believe demonic forces are at work and asks a local priest (Daniel Bruehl) to chase the spirits out. However, it soon becomes obvious Satan is not the one to blame for the horrible visits. Three decades later, John (Clive Owen) and Susanna (Carice van Houten) are the parents of Mia (Ella Purnell), a 13-year-old girl. John is fiercely protective of his daughter, and when she's attacked in her room late one night, he's determined to find whoever or whatever is responsible. As it happens, Mia is being visited by Hollowface, a monster similar to the one who was stalking Juan, and he's just as difficult to frighten away. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's first directorial project after his commercial breakthrough with 28 Weeks Later, Intruders was an official selection at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi