Toni Canto Movies

Pedro Almodóvar directed this story of a woman and her circle of friends who find themselves suffering a variety of emotional crises. Manuela (Cecilia Roth) is a single mother who has raised her son, Esteban (Eloy Azorín), to adulthood on her own and has come to emotionally depend on him. One night, Manuela and Esteban take in a production of A Streetcar Named Desire; after the show, Esteban is struck and killed by a passing motorist as he dashes into the street to get an autograph from Huma Rojo (Marisa Paredes), who played Blanche. Emotionally devastated, Manuela relocates to Barcelona in hopes of finding her ex-husband (and Esteban's father), who is now working as a female impersonator. Manuela becomes reacquainted with old friend La Agrado (Antonia San Juan), a transsexual, and is introduced to Sister Rosa (Penélope Cruz), a good-hearted nun who has to contend with her considerably more cynical mother (Rosa María Sardà). While looking for work, Manuela becomes acquainted with Huma Rojo. Huma, on the other hand, has troubles of her own, most involving her drug-addicted significant other, Nina (Candela Peña). Displaying Almodóvar's trademark visual style and a unusually strong sense of character-driven drama, Todo Sobre Mi Madre/All About My Mother received a highly anticipated theatrical run in Spain before winning the Best Director award at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival; in 2000, Almodóvar would receive the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this metaphysical Spanish sex comedy, a diving accident causes the spirit of a soccer manager to exchange places with a female rock star. The switcheroo couldn't have happened at a worse time because coach Juan Antonio needs to be at his macho peak to spur his team to victory during the upcoming Real Madrid championship. Belinda, the singer, is none too happy either, for the change ruins her plans to marry Eduardo, the manager of the hotel where the mishap occurs. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This thriller is a remake of the popular Spanish 1963 version and marks the directorial debut of Jesus Mora. Ex-con Roman is on the road to reform until he gets close to thirty and has a crisis about his heretofore wasted life. He finds himself torn between the criminal temptations offered by Martin, and the sweet rewards of honesty offered by his girlfriend Marisa. Roman chooses the former and with former druggie Picas and his pregnant wife Julia, begins conspiring to help Martin rob an armored car slated to carry the spoils from a big rock concert to the bank. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The Spanish I'm the One You're Looking For bears echoes of Alfred Hitchcock, though it's unlikely that Hitch would have pushed the envelope as far as director Jaime Chavarri does here. Patricia Adriani plays a beautiful model who is the victim of a brutal rape in a dark section of Barcelona. The violation has an astonishing effect on the young woman. She becomes obsessed with meeting her rapist again, and to that end frequents the seediest of locales and commiserates with the lowest forms of humanity. The question raised here is whether Ms. Adriani is seeking vengeance or some bizarre form of sexual fulfillment. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi