Carmen Madrid Movies
A young Quinceañera plans to ditch her lavish coming-of-age bash in favor of having fun with friends, only to find that maintaining appearances isn't as simple as she assumed it would be. Paty is about to turn fifteen, and her proud parents are determined to celebrate the big date in style. But when the guests start filing in, all Paty can think about is sneaking out. Will Paty prove capable of charming her family and still having fun with friends, or will her first day as a woman wind up being something she spends her entire adulthood trying to forget. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ilean Almaguer, Carmen Madrid, (more)
The perfect crime goes horribly, absurdly awry in this Spanish-language tale of avarice starring Y Tu Mamá También's Diego Luna. Told in real time, Nicotina charts the different paths taken by eight characters over the course of a botched diamond heist masterminded by tech geek Lolo (Luna), Tomson (Jésus Ochoa), and El Nene (Lucas Crespi), each of whom has his own Achilles' heel when it comes to committing crime. For Lolo, it's his incessant, unrequited attraction to his neighbor Andrea (Marta Belaustegui); for El Nene, it's his overwhelming need to look cool as a neophyte gangster; and for Tomson, it's his loose-cannon demeanor that threatens to do him -- and everyone else -- in. Over the course of an hour and a half, the trio becomes intertwined with a variety of mobsters, shop owners, and not-so-innocent bystanders, each encounter bringing unexpectedly violent obstacles to securing the precious gems. Nicotina premiered in North America at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival before heading to the AFI film fest. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
Legendary Mexican director Arturo Ripstein explores the mundane and sexual obsession in 1940s Mexico in his 2002 film The Virgin of Lust. Introverted Ignacio "Nacho" Jurado (Luis Felipe Tovar) spends his days waiting tables at the Cafe Ofelia and his nights amongst his voluminous porno collection. His world is turned upside-down when a prostitute named Lola (Ariadne Gil) begins hanging out at the cafe. Nacho is immediately smitten with the whore, but Lola's mind is focused on a very brutish wrestler who'll have nothing to do with her. Lola, a natural sadist, recognizes Nacho's penchant for being dominated and she begins to fully exploit this chance to unleash her cruelty on a willing recipient. As the relationship settles into its regular perverseness, Nacho is presented with what he sees as an opportunity to capture Lola's heart completely -- to become a macho revolutionary hero by assassinating Francisco Franco. The Virgin of Lust was chosen for inclusion into the Upstream program at the 2002 Montreal World Film Festival, winning a Special Mention prize from that program's jury. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi
- Starring:
- Luis Felipe Tovar, Ariadna Gil, (more)
As all too many people know from painful experience, or can figure out with a little math, the friendly people who offer Easy Monthly Payments know that they've got you paying through the nose for their little conveniences. Unfortunately for Jose, even though he was on the fast-track at work, he felt obligated to marry his pregnant girlfriend, and he now has so many new obligations to attend to immediately that he swiftly falls prey to the lure of comodas mensualidades. He finally realizes that he's in serious trouble when he can't get their newborn baby out of the hospital until he pays the bill -- and he can't pay the bill! This comedy which pokes fun at the pretensions of Mexico's "yuppie" class, includes such rituals as the inexplicable visits of Japanese businessmen, and the mad cheeriness of the dialogues taught by instructors in business English classes. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dino Garcia, Claudia Fernandez, (more)
