Rafael Alonso Movies

Rodrigo de Arista (Fernando Fernan-Gomez) is an elderly Spanish gentleman who went to the United States in hopes of cashing in on the gold rush, but returned to Northern Spain with very little to show for his efforts. He discovers upon his arrival that his son has died, leaving behind a wife, Lucrecia (Cayetana Guillen-Cuervo) and two daughters. However, a note from his late son informs Rodrigo that he fathered one of the children, but the other is a bastard that his wife conceived in an adulterous relationship with a French painter. Rodrigo is determined to find out which of the two children is his real granddaughter; his relationship with Lucrecia, which was never cordial, is now strained even further when she realizes that Rodrigo knows her secret and could destroy her reputation in the small town that she calls home. Rodrigo is aided in his search for the truth by Pio Coronado (Rafael Alonso), an old friend who also tutors the two children. El Abuelo received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 1999; it was also nominated for 13 Goya Awards, Spain's leading prize for excellence in filmmaking, with Fernando Fernan-Gomez taking home the trophy for Best Actor. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This Spanish film, shot in the lovely Huesca region, pokes gentle fun at the showbiz aspirations of five monks in a lonely monastery. When the grouchy old screenwriter cannot meet his deadline for the script for a new and already dull movie, he and his partner end up sequestered in a Spanish monastery. The five monks cannot help but add their two pesos worth every chance they get. The screenwriter also finds unwanted advice from the town baker who believes the script, which was set in 19th-century Scotland and written for Sean Connery, would be more interesting if it were a modern Spanish story with local settings. The baker, a pretty young woman, has many great ideas for the film. She, the screenwriter and his partner end up in a triangle that parallels the triangle in the story. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The generals in this comedy probably got their positions the old-fashioned way: through having good connections (and/or lots of family money) and sufficient seniority. What is certain is that they have no affinity for the study of modern warfare, which is what they have been sent to do here. They have grown so used to maintaining themselves as superior beings that it comes as quite a shock to them when a mere lieutenant is allowed to show them just how ignorant they are. Some of them even start to understand that in an era of missile-delivered nuclear warheads, it's not very safe to be quite so out of touch. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Based on a 1943 book of the same title by Camilo José Cela, Colmena features the comings and goings of a wide variety of characters, all trying to survive in a poverty-stricken Madrid during World War II. Rather than feature any single story line, these people from all walks of life cross paths almost randomly as they come to a café to sip their one cup of coffee and work on a book, or pick up a prostitute, or get their shoes shined, or play billiards, or just warm themselves on a cold winter's day. This primary setting is complemented by a brothel where a dirt-poor journalist sleeps if there is a room available that night, while during the day he tries to make ends meet one way or another. The demeanor of the people in the café or in the brothel effectively conveys the atmosphere of a long-lost era that may have had hardships but also brought a subtle sense of camaraderie to very disparate human beings. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Few sacred cows go un-gored in this satirical Spanish movie. In Spain, as in England, instead of getting together over a round of golf, it is customary for the power elite to gather at a country estate for a long weekend of "hunting," which basically consists of standing in one spot shooting at game which is being driven toward the hunters. Between shots, the elite converse. In the story, a Catalan businessman pays an impoverished nobleman for the use of his country estate and its game. He is hosting this party to win the goodwill of a group of investors whom he hopes will back one of his schemes. Sprinkled among the businessmen are some more twisted types, every one of them a genuine aristocrat or the member of some government or other -- even a dictator in exile from his Latin American country. A powerful but disapproving priest surveys the scene with outspoken scorn. When the businessman learns that he has backed the wrong horse, and that a new government is being formed, he scrambles to curry favor with those few of his guests who are part of the next group to come to power. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

When an elderly relative (Francisco Rabal) who has made a fortune in the Americas returns to Spain for a visit with his relatives, the mother (Conchita Velasco) of a bevy of daughters feels certain that at least one of them can snare him for a secure future. Imagine her frustration, then, when the old fellow falls in love with the family's servant girl (Ana Belen). Not only is she haplessly preventing the family's daughters from snaring a mate, the servant has been having an affair with a priest which was not good for anyone. In the end, the old man's love prevails, the conscience-ridden priest is freed of his entanglement, and the newly married couple move out of the country. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this spare Spanish drama, Sara is a morally upright woman with but one failing: she wants to be a stage star. Unfortunately, she has been an actress for a long time, and stardom is still a distant dream. In order to remain on the stage, she sacrificed the prospect of marriage to a concert pianist from a respectable family. She is now considering the amorous (but not honorable) proposals of a theater owner. One night, the star of the show "takes a powder" and Sara steps into her role. She is a great hit with the audience, but the old star is back at her job the next night, and Sara gets no further opportunities. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Bienvenido Mr. Marshall (Welcome Mr. Marshall) is a comedy predicated on the Marshall Plan, which provided American financial aid to deserving European communities. When two Marshall-Plan representatives announce plans to drive through a small Spanish town on the Iberian peninsula, the mayor, in cahoots with a publicity agent, intends to make as good an impression as possible. As a result, all signs of Western culture are hidden, and the town is transformed into a picture-postcard version of Old Iberia. As the townsfolk await the arrival of the Americans, each citizen conjures up visions (mostly inaccurate) of what life might be like in the good old USA. The satirical thrust of Bienvenido Mr. Marshall was misinterpreted as "leftist" by some observers when the film opened at the Cannes Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide