Maribel Verdú Movies

A hopeless, bleak mood hangs over this heavy drama about three teens in San Sebastian, a port city on the Bay of Biscay in the Basque country of Spain. Covert references are made to political issues like the miseries of shipyard workers and to the police as rather brusque and hard-nosed. Drugs are rampant in the lower orders of city life; one of the teens has dropped out of high school and is a user, as is his girlfriend. He survives by stealing and by handouts from his family, who nevertheless want nothing to do with him. No matter how much a third teen friend tries to get this couple to give up the habit, nothing works. The ultimate question, though not emphasized here, may be who is really responsible for what happens to this unfortunate young couple. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This confusing and meandering mystery concerns a double crime committed in a rural village in 1956. Greedy land speculators, soldiers on leave, a house of prostitution, and a smuggler with a mentally challenged daughter are the focus of this crime drama that lacks suspense and suffers from being to disconnected. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Vicente Aranda's Lovers is set in Spain, mostly in Madrid, during the 1950s. The story line is reminiscent of Theodore Dreiser's classic An American Tragedy (which was filmed as A Place in the Sun), wherein a passive, amoral, and shallow protagonist inadvertently destroys the lives of two women who love him. The handsome Paco (Jorge Sanz, who also starred in Belle Epoque and has been called "the Spanish Tom Cruise") is a young soldier involved with a virginal maid, Trini (Maribel Verdu of Y Tu Mama Tambien). Trini is saving her money and planning for their wedding, but Paco tells her not to worry, that he will find a job and save money for them. Paco leaves the army, but has trouble finding and keeping a steady job. He ends up renting a cheap room from Luisa (Spanish superstar Victoria Abril, best known for her work in Pedro Almodovar's films), a beautiful and mysterious widow. Before long, Luisa has seduced the sexually frustrated Paco, and involved him in her moneymaking scams. Trini quickly figures out what is going on, and makes a desperate effort to win back Paco's affection. Paco is obsessed with the sexually experienced and voracious older woman, but is unable to break off his long-term relationship with Trini. He attempts to string them both along, with disastrous results. The film was the first of veteran filmmaker Aranda to get a theatrical release in the United States, thanks largely to Abril's star power, and caused a minor sensation with its sexual explicitness, in particular the infamous "handkerchief scene." ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

After striking responsive chord at the Berlin Film Festival, Fernando Trueba's Belle Epoque (aka Age of Beauty) went on to win 9 Spanish Goya awards and an Academy Award for "Best Foreign Film." Set in pre-Franco Spain, film stars Jorge Sanz as Fernando, a carefree, pacifistic army deserter. Wandering about the countryside, Fernando is welcomed into home of the wealthy Don Manolo (Fernando Fernan Gomez). Far from upset by the boy's AWOL status, Manolo is delighted because he shares Fernando's political philosophies. What follows is sheer heaven for the peaceloving lad, who sits smilingly on the sidelines as Manolo's four voluptuous daughters (Adrian Gil, Maribel Verdu, Miriam Diaz-Aroca, and Penelope Cruz) literally fight for his attentions. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This uplifting film, set in a 19th-century Spanish convent, quietly comments upon the limitations of leading the spiritual and isolated life of a nun. The peaceful routine of the nuns is interrupted by the sudden arrival of an abandoned baby girl. The girl, whom they named Teresa after the Mother Superior, is formally adopted by the town doctor, but is actually raised by the loving hands of the nuns. The film follows their experiences as they learn a more earthly form of love. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Near the end of the Franco dictatorship in 1974, impoverished yet optimistic salesman Lozano (Antonio Resines) travels the Spanish coast in a Citroen with his rebellious teenage son Felipe (Fernando Ramallo), a fan of Patty Hearst. After Lozano makes love to attractive vocalist wannabe Estrella (Miriam Diaz Aroca), both father and son make moves on pleasant Paquita (Maribel Verdu), a local villager. They finally settle down at an American Army base where Lozano goes to work selling imported cars and Felipe finds happiness with black-girl Miranda (Tania Adam). Shown at the 1997 Vallodolid Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Gerardo Herrero directed this Spanish-Argentine-German-French period fantasy drama set in turn-of-the century Buenos Aires. After widowed Roque (Jose Coronado) killed a man in Spain, he emigrated to Argentina with his young son Ramon (Francisco Corbalan). With his friend Hermann (Peter Lohmeyer), Roque works for a tobacco distributor. A ghost, Maidana (Federico Luppi), murdered by a "cutthroat and philosopher," reveals himself to only two people -- Roque and brothel-owner Teresa, aka Piera (Maribel Verdu) -- a situation which brings Roque and Piera together romantically. Shown in competition at the 1998 San Sebastian Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Carlos Saura, one of the finest and most distinctive filmmakers in the Spanish cinema, wrote and directed this biographical epic concerning one of Spain's greatest artists, the painter Francisco de Goya y Lucientes. On his deathbed, Goya (Francisco Rabal), attended by his mistress, Leocadia (Eulalia Ramon) and their daughter, Rosario (Dafne Fernandez), is plagued by hallucinations and frequent visions of the beautiful Cayetana (Maribel Verdu) as his mind reels through the events of his life. As a young man, Goya (played in his younger days by Jose Coronado) became the court painter to King Charles and the Royal Family, where he created technically skillful but uninteresting portraits and was invited to a number of royal functions. At one such affair, Goya first met Cayetana, the Duchess of Alba, and he was immediately smitten; they became lovers, and she was both the subject and inspiration of several major works, including "Desnuda" and "La Maja Vestida." Goya's work developed a dark undercurrent after Napoleon invaded Spain and he took up with Leocadia, creating disturbing images that alienated his patrons and frightened his children. In time, the decline of the court and a changing political climate forced Goya to seek exile in France in 1824, where he would die four years later. Goya In Bordeaux was a project that Saura had dreamed of filming for years, and he was ably assisted in recreating the look of Goya's paintings by master cinematographer Vittorio Storaro. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Someone in a black minstrel suit is killing all of the flunky students at a university in Salamanca, Spain, and it's up to a new student, Alex (Silke), to piece the puzzle together before the next post-exam death. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi