Carmen Maura Movies
Carmen Maura is a giant of Spanish cinema, a woman who has won numerous international awards for her work. Once the celebrated host of a Spanish television show, El Noche, and cabaret artist, Carmen Maura's star as a queen of cinema rose with that of Pedro Almodóvar.Maura began her film career in 1970, turning in great performances in films such as The Man in Hiding (1970); Fernando Colomo's Paper Tigers (1977); and Carlos Saura's 1978 film Blindfolded Eyes. The actress appeared in Almodóvar's very first film, Pepi, Luci, Bom, in 1980. Their collaboration lasted through seven films, including What Have I Done to Deserve This? and Dark Habits, both made in 1984, and The Law of Desire (1986). In the process, Maura showed the range of her abilities, as she portrayed the unusual characters that Almodóvar favors, such as a lesbian nun and a transsexual actress involved in a love triangle with her brother, played by Antonio Banderas. The two worked again in an Almodóvar vehicle that was destined to catapult them all to international stardom. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown was released in 1988. The film won numerous awards, launched Banderos' career in America, and led Carmen Maura to the winners' circle for the European Film Award for Best Actress.
Her starring role as Pepa contains all the classic elements of an Almodóvar film. She is a strong and capable woman, in distress at her lover's impersonal bet, as he breaks up with her via a note and her answering machine. Her current condition of pregnancy makes his sudden departure all the more upsetting. As she teeters on the brink of insanity, her world is invaded by others vying for her time and attention at a most inopportune time: she is preparing to take her own life. Maura's gifts for comedy and pathos are evident in the hilarious scene in her apartment in which she tends to the needs of others, notably played by Banderos, Rossy de Palma, and Maria Barranco, while coming to terms with her own predicament. Almodóvar, always the admirer of the strength of women, has Pepa discovering that very fact for herself. By giving her compassion generously to others, she saves herself and is ready to face life once more.
Maura won the European Film Festival Best Actress award again in 1990 for her title role in Saura's Ay, Carmela!, with her riveting performance as an entertainer during the Spanish Civil War. Among her noteworthy contributions to cinema in the '90s were her characterizations in Happiness Is in the Field, directed by Etienne Chatiliez, in 1995; Téchiné's Alice and Martin (1998); and Common Wealth (2000), the latest film from Alex de la Eglesia. The luminous Carmen Maura is still going strong in the 21st century, having completed work in Eva Lesmes' The Hold-Up in 2001. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, Rovi
- 1986
Tata (Imperio Argentina) is a matronly nurse hired by a wealthy heiress who has spent the last 13 years in a convent. Fearing she is prone to nymphomania, Tata oversees the romantic antics of the sex-starved woman as she attempts to rejoin society. Satirical jabs at the military government, the aristocracy, and the Church highlight this comedy. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Imperio Argentina, Alfredo Landa, (more)
On the heels of the self-financed, modestly budgeted 2007 drama Youth Without Youth -- his first directorial outing after a ten-year hiatus -- filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola remains situated in the director's chair for this semi-autobiographical family drama concerning an artistic family of immigrants whose fierce rivalries span several generations. Vincent Gallo stars with newcomer Alden Ehrenreich, with Carmen Maura, Maribel Verdú, and Alden Ehrenreich rounding out the cast. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Vincent Gallo, Alden Ehrenreich, (more)
- 1986
- NC17
Popular film director Pablo Quintero (Eusebio Poncela) has found a new love in the form of handsome blue-collar Juan (Miguel Molina). Not altogether comfortable with his lifestyle, Juan decides to leave Pablo for a while to contemplate his future. Pablo insists that Juan keep in touch by sending him love letters. Ever the director, he plans to write the letters himself, and have Juan mail them back with his signature. If you think that settles things, you don't know filmmaker Pedro Almodovar. Among the many plot complications in Law of Desire is Pablo's subsequent romance with the possessive Antonio (Antonio Banderas, whose "gay kiss" in the film prompted front-page headlines in the Brazilian press), and Pablo's efforts to film the life story of his sister (Carmen Maura), who started out life as his brother. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eusebio Poncela, Carmen Maura, (more)
Sarah (Élodie Bouchez) a young Carmelite nun, collapses in pain, dazed and spouting a nonsense phrase. Concurrently, a great distance away, her identical twin sister, Gaëlle (also Bouchez), in prison, wakes up to find her cell in flames. While Gaëlle, the victim of an attack by her fellow prisoners, is transferred to a different prison, Joachim (Gérard Depardieu), a Cecilian (both a doctor and a priest) visits with Sarah. He's perplexed by her case because her tests all came back normal, and he deducts that her spells must have a psychological source. But Sarah isn't forthcoming about her past, and Mother Emmanuelle (Carmen Maura), who runs the convent, doesn't even want Joachim to treat the young woman. Through his investigations, Joachim learns that Sarah has a twin sister, to whom she may have some kind of psychic connection. Delving deeper into the past, he discovers that Gaëlle went to prison for a horrible crime at around the same time Sarah entered the convent. Joachim is dealing with the violence of his own past, and cannot let go of his prying, despite the advice of his colleagues. He finds Gaëlle after she is released on parole, and takes her in. Their relationship becomes more complicated, and they are threatened by others who would prefer that the past stay buried. The Pact of Silence was based on a novel by Marcelle Bernstein. It was adapted for the screen by Roselyne Bosch (1492: Conquest of Paradise) and directed by Graham Guit. The film had a theatrical release in France, but was released straight-to-video in the U.S. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gérard Depardieu, Élodie Bouchez, (more)
Hector Carre's psychological thriller The Promise concerns a woman who liberates herself from a destructive marriage and becomes nanny to a boy. The boy's family lives in an ornate mansion, but the nanny becomes convinced that the house is haunted, and she goes to frightening lengths to protect the boy. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Carmen Maura, Ana Fernandez, (more)
Straight laced stockbroker and married father Jean-Louis Joubert encounters a free-spirited group of Spanish maids who inspire him to live life to the fullest, and forms a special bond with pretty servant Maria in this French comedy set in 1960s-era Paris. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Fabrice Luchini, Sandrine Kiberlain, (more)
- 1977
When Generalissimo Francisco Franco relinquished power and then died in 1975, Spain had lived with him as its leader for so long that everyone in the country (even his opponents) felt his absence keenly. An era had ended and a new one begun. At the same time, some serious partying could begin, and Spain could finally rejoin Europe as a modern country. This film marks two important debuts: for Carmen Maura as a screen actress, and for the director, Fernando Colomo. In this film, a trio of people involved in an amicable love triangle explore their new sense of freedom after Franco's departure by attending political rallies, taking drugs, and discussing philosophy, and partying with their equally disoriented friends. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Carmen Maura
- 1997
Benjamin Ballon wants to be a filmmaker, and has devoted a large part of his life for the past few years to getting to the point of filming an independent movie. He has been encouraged by Carmen Maura (playing herself), an established star, who has agreed to appear in his first film, and it is her level-headedness, calmness, and general good sense that keeps the project moving along, despite Benjamin's inexperience and a very temperamental male lead. On one occasion when the male lead is hours late for a shoot, her calm is the only thing which keeps the crew from walking out. The title comes from Maura's habit of bringing homemade tortillas to meetings, and using them to get her way. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Carmen Maura, Marc Duret, (more)
Venerable Argentinian filmmaker Alejandro Agresti turns his lens to his own childhood in this nostalgic coming-of-age tale. Set in the director's hometown of Buenos Aires circa 1964, Valentin centers around its title character (and ostensible stand-in for the director), a nine-year-old boy (Rodrigo Noya) whose feuding parents have left him to be raised by his sage, eccentric grandmother (Carmen Maura). With his father (Agresti) visiting only occasionally, Valentin is left to look to the other men in the neighborhood for father figures, and to replace his absent mother, he warms to Leticia (Julieta Cardinali), one of his father's many short-term girlfriends. When he tells her personal secrets about his father, however, Valentin jeopardizes their relationship. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rodrigo Noya, Carmen Maura, (more)
Two sisters learn that the bonds of family don't always end after death in this gentle observational comedy drama that marks celebrated Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar's 16th feature. The story explores the interactions between three generations of women in a Spanish family. Raimunda (Penélope Cruz) was born and raised in the apocryphal village of Alcanfor de las Infantas, in La Mancha, Spain. However, she now resides in Madrid, where she works as a janitor. She is married to Paco (Antonio de la Torre), an unemployed layabout, and looks after her daughter, Paula (Yohana Cobo). Raimunda's mother, Irene (Carmen Maura), died several years back (along with her father) in a house fire. Raimunda's younger sister, Sole (Lola Dueñas), also lives in Madrid and works as a hair stylist, while their aunt Paula (Chus Lampreave) still makes her home in La Mancha, with occasional help from neighbor Agustina (Blanca Portillo). The story takes an unusual and mystical twist when Agustina mentions that Irene has begun reappearing in ghostly form -- a fact questioned by Raimunda and Sole. After a murder and an unexpected family tragedy, Paula's story is indeed corroborated by the appearance of Irene's spirit (who has come to comfort her family), and Sole must decide how to respond to the long-dead mother's strange, enchanting presence. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, (more)
- 1984
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Filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, the Luis Buñuel of the 1980s, cooks up another perversely funny descent into urban hell in What Have I Done to Deserve This? Carmen Maura plays a middle-class housewife hemmed in by her wildly eccentric relatives. Her principal purpose in life is a balancing act: to keep her head fastened on securely while all others are losing theirs. Film buffs will have a field day toting up Almodóvar's visual and verbal allusions to the works of Buñuel, Brian De Palma, Billy Wilder, John Waters, and even Andy Warhol. What Have I Done to Deserve This? was originally titled ¿Que He Hecho Yo Para Merecer Esto? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Carmen Maura, Ángel de Andrés Lopez, (more)
Shot in Lisbon, this drama examines the issue of aging as seen from the viewpoints of five women facing middle age -- self-destructive actress-singer Branca (Guesch Patti), losing the respect of her daughter; single literature professor Eva (Miou-Miou), attracted to the son of her friend Barbara (Marthe Keller), who's in the middle of a divorce; top TV journalist Linda (Carmen Maura), who has a lover but can't commit; and beauty-salon owner Chloe (Marisa Berenson). Shown at the 1998 Palm Springs Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Miou-Miou, Carmen Maura, (more)
- 1988
- R
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Though the kinky characters and aberrant social behavior common to the works of Spanish director Pedro Almodovar are very evident in his Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, the film is at heart a door-slamming farce in the grand tradition. The tiny apartment of pregnant actress Carmen Maura is the "Grand Central Station" setpiece for this dizzying tale. Distraught over her recent breakup with her lover, Carmen prepares to overdose on sleeping pills, which she blends into a gazpacho so they'll go down easier. She is diverted from her suicide by her best friend Maria Barranco, a fugitive from justice (her boy friend is a Shi'Ite terrorist) who needs a place to stay. Later, when Carmen's apartment is empty, her ex-lover's grown son (Antonio Banderas) comes to the apartment with his fiance (Rossy de Palma) in answer to Carmen's "room to let" newspaper ad. The wife inadvertently ingests Carmen's "pill sauce," and as she blissfully snoozes, the husband inaugurates an affair with Carmen's friend Barranco. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, (more)
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