German Cobos Movies
Juan (Antonio Banderas) has been trying to escape the sexual demands of his sister for some time. He now works at a nuclear power plant as a very specialized kind of welder. A gypsy girl has taken up with him, but is temporarily displaced in his bed by his sister who has found him again, after a brief search. At the same time, the sister is being wooed by an English engineer (Bruce McGuire) at the same plant, and gradually she relinquishes the hold she has held over her bother. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Antonio Banderas, Emma Suarez, (more)
- 1964
Listed in many sources as an American film, Agent Z55-Desperate Mission was actually shot in Italy. It is another in a long line of 1960s James Bonds wannabes, complete with dinner-jacketed hero (Gianni Rizzo) and a bevy of exotic females. The titular mission involves-what else?--preventing a megalomaniac villain from laying waste to the free world. The only truly recognizable name in the cast list is Yoko Tani, leading lady of many an adventure and sci-fi endeavor. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- German Cobos, Yoko Tani, (more)
- 1989
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
- Starring:
- Paco Rabal, Jose Maria Mazo, (more)
- 1959
This Spanish film was officially inspired by the Prosper Merimee novel (and Bizet opera) Carmen. Instead of working in a cigarette factory, however, Carmen (Sarita Montiel) has become a cabaret singer. She and her lover, Napoleonic sergeant Jose (Maurice Ronet), end up joining a Spanish resistance movement fronted by Antonio (George Mistral), leading to a story marked by tragedy and betrayal, just like the Merimee original. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sarita Monteil, Jorge Mistral, (more)
- 1975
Carlos Saura wrote and directed this powerful psychological drama in which family crises which reflect the embattled soul of a nation are seen through the eyes of an unusually perceptive child. Ana (Ana Torrent) is an eight-year-old girl growing up in a troubled household -- her father Anselmo (Hector Alterio) is a general in the Spanish military during the waning days of Franco's repressive regime, and her mother (Geraldine Chaplin) is dead, Ana having witnessed her agonizing final moments. Anna, her older sister Irene (Conchita Perez) and younger sister Juana (Maite Sanchez) are looked after by their emotionally chilly Aunt Paulina (Monica Randall), while housekeeper Rosa (Florinda Chico) provides what little warmth there is to be found in the household. While Ana's mother is gone, the girl frequently sees and hears her mother's spirit, and is convinced Anselmo's emotional neglect and infidelity is responsible for her death, leading the youngster to take her own form of revenge against her father. The title Cria Cuervos is taken from a Spanish proverb -- "Raise ravens and they'll pluck out your eyes." The film was originally released in the United States under title Cria!, and has been screened in English-speaking territories as Raise Ravens and The Secret of Ana. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 1976
On long summer weekends, Juan (Alfredo Landa) is in the habit of hopping on his motorcycle in Madrid and driving for many hours to Torremolinos, a popular hangout for foreign tourists. There, he indulges in his fondness for romancing foreign girls. In this movie, which won a Gold Prize at the 1977 Moscow Film Festival, the people he meets on his journey form a microcosm of modern Spain. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alfredo Landa, Paco Algora, (more)
- 1963
Also released as Valley of the Swords, this lugubrious US/Spanish co-production features the usual mid-1960s "tax shelter" international cast. Broderick Crawford plays a despotic 10th century Spanish king who, in cahoots with the invading Moors, has banished handsome Castilian nobleman Spartaco Santoni. With the surreptitious aid of Crawford's daughter Teresa Velasquez, Santoni assembles an army to march against the Moors. In keeping with the 13th century epic poem from which this film was derived ("El Poema de Fernan Gonzales") Santoni's path is smoothed by the celestial intervention of patron saints Milan and Santiago. Among the big names picking up a few tax-free dollars in The Castilian are Cesar Romero, Linda Darnell, Alida Valli and Fernando Rey. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1978
Fuerte Perdido was released in the US as Fort Lost. The white settlers in a remote outpost are ever on alert againt potiential Indian attack. When the attack does come, it is at the instigation of the dreaded Geronimo. In European westerns, the good guys don't always win, so the outcome up for grabs. Very violent, but undeniably exciting. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1991
Javier Zaldivar was politically committed to the values of Franco's army when he fought in the Spanish Civil War, and he carried that commitment with him when he fought against the Russians with the German army in World War II. Thus, he was involved in wars and their aftermath for the better part of a decade. However, whenever he had a moment to spend back home, he would always seek out the company of Luisa, the widow of his old comrade Captain Estrada. Now it is 1947, and he is back in Spain for good. As usual, he seeks out his favorite lover, and as usual, she welcomes him to her bed. However, it turns out that she is also the lover of a leftist and is hiding another man who is wanted for political reasons -- perhaps he fought on the wrong side in the Civil War. Now that he is back for good, it is much more difficult to hide these things from Javier. After finding out about these deceptions, when he follows his political convictions rather than his heart, the consequences are disastrous. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anna Galiena, Sergi Mateu, (more)
- 1964
By 1964, the French had turned over their interest in the Vietnam War to the Americans. The heyday of the French Indochinese War was in the late 1940s and 1950s. This movie is set in that period and concerns the relationship between a French soldier and a German plantation owner who must set aside their differences in order to survive the hostility of the local population. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Curd Jürgens, Maurice Ronet, (more)
- 1972
We can find predecessors of the Spanish Marianela dating back to the dawn of cinema (take a look at D.W. Griffith's Blind Love, vintage 1910). But there's no such thing as an old story if it's done with finesse. Rodio Ducal plays a disfigured young woman who falls in love with blind Pierre Orcel. Theirs is an idyllic relationship-until word comes down that an operation may restore Orcel's sight. In many respects, Marianela can be seen as a worthy precursor to the better-known Hollywood production Mask (1985). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1964
Two lovers have an adulterous affair in this moral melodrama from Spain that carefully sidesteps condemnation of the church. Jacques Doniol-Valcroze and Yelena Samarina star as the illicit lovers in this feature that is visually stunning but fails to go beyond the superficiality of the characters. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, Yelena Samarina, (more)
- 1957
In this drama, a woman marries a lawyer who is endeavoring to do all he can to stay on the good side of his wealthy aunts so he will inherit their fortunes. When the bride begins acting strangely and going places at odd times, the aunts hire a private detective to shadow her. He learns that she has been secretly meeting with a doctor, and he suspects the worst. In the end, all is cleared up when the bride reveals that she is pregnant. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 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)
- 1992
Daniel and Maria were lovers at one time, but they have long since broken their affair off. However, when they keep running into one another at a Madrid department store, they start to think that perhaps Fate is saying something to them, and reluctantly they try to give one another a second chance -- when they aren't having second thoughts, that is. However, the trick that fate is really playing on them doesn't become clear until the very end. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Juanjo Puigcorbe, Eulalia Ramon, (more)
- 1960
In this WW II adventure, a band of French soldiers must escort a group of high-ranking German officers across the North African desert. Along the way a strange bond develops between the men, one of whom is Jewish. Just before they reach their destination, they are attacked by their own troops who do not recognize them. Only one of them survives. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lino Ventura, Hardy Kruger, (more)
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