Gonzalo Suárez Movies

All hell breaks loose when an eccentric theatrical ensemble arrives in Oviedo, Spain to stage a production of the Leopoldo Alas play La Regenta, in writer-director Gonzalo Suarez's madcap comedy Oviedo Express. Among the players are self-important, high-maintenance Mariola Mayo (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon), who draws the unrequited affections of lush Alvaro Mesia (Jorge Sanz) but is herself married to egocentric thespian Benjamin Olmo (Carmelo Gomez); meanwhile, a pretty young post-graduate student, Emma (Barbara Goenaga) who is married to the philandering town mayor Ernesto (Alberto Jimenez) must contend with the ramblings of her nutty mom, Mina (Maribel Verdu), unshakably convinced that her late husband was an angel. As a product of these crazy shenanigans, Emma falls prey to the philanderings and manipulations of just about everyone and dire consequences ensue. The film has, as its source material, the same Stefan Zweig short story as Roberto Rossellini's 1954 feature Fear. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

A former football star finds himself weighing difficult options in this period drama from Spain. Ramiro Forteza (Carmelo Gomez) was once the goalie for a championship soccer team in Madrid, but as Spain struggles to get back on its feet following the Civil War, he's reduced to traveling the countryside, hustling money from strangers who think they can get a penalty kick past him. Ramiro finds himself in a small Asturian town, where he becomes infatuated with Manuella (Maribel Verdu), a single mother who watches over her young son Tito (Adrian Ramirez) and her brother Nardo (Eduard Fernandez), who is still nursing wounds he suffered as a soldier with the Resistance. Manuella also has to contend with Lopez (Julio Velez), a member of the Civil Guard who makes no secret of his sexual interest. Ramiro decides he'd like to stick around for a while, so he takes a job doing chores for Don Constantino (Roberto Alvarez), a rough-hewn but good-natured Catholic priest; soon, though, Ramiro gets a troubling offer from Sgt. Andrade (Antonio Resines), leader of the local branch of the Civil Guard. Andrade would like Ramiro to represent the Civil Guard in a local penalty kick competition, and while he's in no position to refuse, he's also not sure he wants to accept. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Ana Luz's husband has gone away for a little while. While he's away, she experiences every possible irruption into her house, from a troupe of actors to a woman claiming to be her husband's lover. She seems to kill a plumber with her screwdriver, and her neighbor apparently kills a policeman. Just when she "wakes up" and decides she may be dreaming, it begins to seem as though she isn't, in this directionless would-be comedy. Many aspire to avant-garde and radical humor, including the seasoned pros who made this film, but even hardened reviewers were embarrassed for the makers of this movie. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Finally divorced, a couple continue trying to drive each other crazy, with varying results. ~ John Bush, Rovi

Unusual circumstances occur to 2 novice gangsters in this comedy. ~ Rovi

The events that led Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley to write her horror masterpiece Frankenstein provide the basis of this haunting, romantic drama. The story opens aboard a beat up schooner as it carefully makes its way through a massive broken ice pack near the North Pole. There Shelley writes her fantastic tale and reminisces about the events of the previous summer when she was courted by the poetic Percy Byshe Shelley. They elope and go to Switzerland where they become friends with dashing Lord Byron and his companion Dr. Polidori. Shelley's sister Claire accompanies them and gets romantically entangled with Byron. The group subsequently spends some idyllic almost hedonistic weeks at Byron's villa. Over the next few years, strange, tragic and troubling events occur and whenever they do, Shelley sees her monster lurking in the shadows. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this crime drama, a pair of drug smugglers attempt to take over a crime ring. Trouble brews when the two fall in love with a manipulative beauty who wants the operation for herself. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Director Gonzalo Suárez wrote this sequel to his 1967 film Ditirambo in which the lead character has a friend and fellow writer named Rocabruno (Francisco Rabal) who struggles with writer's block on a grand scale. Ditirambo (José Sacristán) has more enthusiasm than his friend, and unflinchingly prods and pushes to get the blocked ink flowing again. Just as in the earlier film, and in Suárez' book on these characters, there is no clear line between reality and fantasy, no logical plot, quite a few skits that illustrate the two writers' imaginations, and a bit of humor. The off-beat nature of this somewhat experimental movie may not be for all audiences though Suárez garnered a cult following for the first Ditirambo film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Three booze-soaked near-derelicts have a series of macabre adventures on the day when one of them was supposed to report to his new job at the mine, located near their northern Spanish town. Set at the end of the 19th century, and based on A Esmorga by Eduardo Balnacoamer, this story follows the trio on the bender to end all benders. The fellow with a new job is waylaid by his buddies who haul him off to a local bar. There, they get into a fight and wind up knifing a miner. They escape over the wall of a nobleman's villa, and have several strange adventures before settling down peaceably for a late-night drink. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Four villains seek to wrest from a mute girl (Carmen Sevilla) the secret location of a prehistoric gold statuette discovered by her father. Her silence dates from the day when she saw her father murdered for that same statue. Donald Pleasance and Michael Dunn lend their expert presences to this crime thriller. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this Spanish film, a boisterous pool party is ended when a corpse turns up in the swimming pool. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi