Lluís Homar Movies

Filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar takes a look at his own adolescence as well as confronting the issue of sexual misconduct in the Catholic Church in this stylish drama, which was chosen to open the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. Enrique Goded (Fele Martínez) is a Spanish filmmaker who is having trouble settling on a new project when he's approached by Ignacio Rodriguez (Gael García Bernal), who was his close friend when they were schoolboys. Goded, who fell in love for the first time with Rodriguez, barely recognizes the man as his former crush, but agrees to read the short story he's written. The tale turns out to be an semi-autobiographical account of their days in a Catholic boarding school, in which a cross-dressing night-club performer named Zahara (also played by Bernal) hooks up with a man named Enrique (Alberto Ferreiro), who turns out to have been his first lover when he was a student. Recalling their school days, Zahara tracks down Father Manolo (Daniel Giménez Cacho), one of his teachers from school with pedophilic tendencies, and threatens to expose the priest's attempts to seduce him and ruin his relationship with Enrique years ago. Goded decides to use the story as the basis for his next film, and Rodriguez, an out-of-work actor, makes it clear he's eager to play Zahara. However, Goded isn't certain if Rodriguez is the right actor for the role, or if he's even the man he claims to be; an angry conflict with Rodriguez leads Goded back to the real Ignacio's mother (Petra Martínez). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A follow-up to Spanish enfant terrible Pedro Almodóvar's 2006 arthouse sensation Volver, Los Abrazos Rotos finds the filmmaker re-teaming with actress Penélope Cruz and working on a canvas much broader than those of his previous outings, in terms of genres covered, narrative scope, and duration. Lluís Homar stars as the former Mateo Blanco, a screenwriter and ex-director who changed his name to Harry Caine after losing his sight in an automobile accident. A past scandal suddenly resurfaces when the news arrives that the producer of one of Harry's old movies ("Girls and Suitcases"), a corrupt stockbroker named Ernesto Martel (José Luis Gómez), has died. For mysterious reasons, this makes Harry's ex-production manager Judit (Blanca Portillo) nervous; then Ernesto's son, Ray X (Rubén Ochandiano), turns up and asks Harry to help him write a vindictive script to get back at his vile father. The film subsequently flashes back to the early '90s, when Martel became involved with his secretary, Lena (Cruz), but Mateo also began to develop feelings for her, and auditioned her for "Girls and Suitcases." In response to Mateo's interest in Lena (and her burgeoning interest in him), the jealous Martel commissioned Ray to make a documentary about the making of "Girls and Suitcases" as an excuse to spy on the director and star. This enabled him to watch Mateo spiriting off with Lena right under his nose, and set the stage for the wily producer's elaborate revenge against Mateo. As this synopsis suggests, Almodóvar uses a tricky structure laden with flashbacks to both comment on and explain the events of the present; he also interweaves a noirish sensibility throughout the picture that marks something of a first for this director. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

A naïve young artist living with her father in an Ibiza cave sets out to explore life on her own terms in Sex and Lucia director Julio Medem's sensual tale of personal transformation. Ana (Manuela Vellés) is a free-spirited nymph who has only known the natural world. An ethereal, nubile woman who supports herself and her father by selling her colorful paintings at various arts and craft fairs across her scenic island, Ana is eventually discovered by a French woman named Justine (Charlotte Rampling) and lured away to art school in Madrid. Once there, Ana is confronted with a life she has never even imagined -- a life that reveals both profound love and near-unbearable pain. As she takes her first step toward womanhood, Ana gradually discovers that life is more than a geographical and linear journey; it is also temporal and cyclical as evidenced by the many lifetimes she has lived before her current existence. Eventually, in a transcendental bid to explore her many past lives, Ana turns to hypnosis. It is this journey that reveals to Ana the source of her chaos -- the hideous commonality that has followed her from her very first journey. Instilled with the wisdom of her many past experiences, Ana is propelled ever further back in time and across the continents, all the while knowing that one day the time will come for her to use the power to create life, and employ her vast knowledge for the good of all humankind. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A woman is trying to unravel a mystery that she literally can no longer see in this thriller from Spanish filmmaker Guillem Morales. Julia (Belén Rueda) and her sister, Sara, have both inherited a medical condition that is slowly robbing them of their eyesight, with stress severely aggravating the condition. When Julia gets the news that Sara has died, she has a hard time believing the police report that she committed suicide, and she and her husband, Isaac (Lluís Homar), begin looking into the matter. As Julia examines the particulars of Sara's death, she begins to suspect the actions of Sara's neighbor Blasco (Boris Ruiz), his daughter, Lia (Andrea Hermosa), and an aged woman named Soledad (Julia Gutiérrez Caba). As Julia becomes more convinced that Sara's neighbors were involved in her death, unpleasant events begin happening all around her, and as she comes closer to unraveling the knots that have tied up Sara's death, Julia inches closer to total blindness. Produced in part by Guillermo del Toro, Los Ojos de Julia (aka Julia's Eyes) was an official selection at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Cujo's got nothing on this fearsome canine as beast fuses with metal to create the ultimate killing machine in this tale survival from genre specialist Brian Yuzna. An innocent man imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, Dante's (William Miller) future looks increasingly grim until an unexpected window of opportunity allows him the chance to flee the confines of his bleak prison cell. Upon realizing that Dante has escaped, the corrupt authorities unleash their ultimate weapon -- an unstoppable, bone-crunching hybrid of canine and machine with a taste for flesh and metal scissors for jaws. In a battle that goes beyond man-versus-machine, the stage is set for the ultimate game of survival. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The story of Spain's most infamous family is brought to the screen with surprising subtlety in this historical drama. Near the end of the 15th century, the Borgias are one of the most wealthy families in Europe, with their numbers divided between Spain and Italy, and when Rodrigo Borgia (Lluis Homar) is elected as Pope, his three sons -- Cesar (Sergio Peris-Mencheta), Juan (Sergio Muniz), and Jofre (Eloy Azorin) -- find themselves raised to positions of power as their father arranges politically advantageous marriages for them. Rodrigo's daughter Lucrecia (Maria Valverde) is also used as a bargaining chip when he persuades her to wed Giovanni Sforza, the favored son of a family often in opposition to the Borgias. While Rodrigo benefits from these alliances, his children do not -- Cesar's dreams of serving in the military are dashed when he is made to join his father in the church, Juan's time in the Army is full of unhappy consequences, Jofre's marriage to Sancha of Aragon (Linda Batista) is not fated to be a happy one, and murder stains the lives of most of the family. Originally shot as a mini-series for television, The Borgias (aka Los Borgia) was reedited for theatrical release in Spain, where it became a success at the box office. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A remote village known for their beautiful funerals awaits the arrival of a wealthy man on the verge of death in director Laura Mañà's dark comedy. When people wanted to go in style, they used to come to San Hilario. But these days funerals are rushed, impersonal affairs, and as a result the people of San Hilario are desperate for work. When the villagers learn that a wealthy client named Germán Cortés is currently en route, they realize he may be the key to revitalizing the local economy, and pull out all the stops to ensure that his last days on Earth are everything he'd hoped for and then some. Unfortunately for the people of San Hilario, the man who arrives claiming to be Germán Cortés is an intruder, and he doesn't seem to understand the true nature of the town's once-thriving business. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi