Josep Maria Pou Movies

In November 1936, in the middle of the Spanish Civil War, while the Fascists are advancing on Madrid, the evacuation of paintings from the Prado Museum begins. Manuel (Gabino Diego), a twenty-eight-year old security guard, finds a self-portrait of Goya abandoned in one corner. As the bombs are already falling on the city, Manuel escapes from the Museum with the painting hidden under his clothes. His intention is to protect the artwork from possible damage. The rest of the story is about Manuel's personal struggle to preserve the masterpiece from the destruction of war and how he is helped by a young woman and her grandfather along the way. La Hora de los Valientes (A Time for Defiance) was screened at the 1999 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide

The apparently self-destructive debauchery of the eternally bored, nihilistic youth of Generation X is chronicled in this European drama set in Madrid. The stories concern a group of friends in their early 20s who frequent a local bar at night where they drink, do drugs and have meaningless sexual encounters. Much of the story centers on Carlos who has distanced himself emotionally from his comfortably middle-class family; the only one among them he can relate to is his grandfather who seems to understand the hopeless outlook that Carlos and his friends have about their future. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

At the beginning of this experimental Catalan film, the camera is at the (fictional) post-award reception for a book entitled Warsaw Bridge. After following one group of cocktail-consuming literary hounds after another for quite some time, the film officially "opens" with its credits. Thereafter, scenes which may or may not have something to do with the book appear. All of them are portentious and symbolic in some fashion, none of them connect to any sort of sustained storyline. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Forty-years after a group of frightened villagers convinced authorities to build the dam that would flood the village of Marinbad and drown the evil that lurks therein, a village built next to the reservoir that sits placid over the cursed ground begins to experience a series of mysterious deaths. Decades ago a curse consumed Marinbad, and as the evil threatened to expand into the surrounding land the villagers successfully lobbied to have their once-peaceful hamlet flooded in hopes of keeping the malevolent spirits contained. Two decades have passed since that fateful attempt to wash away the sins of the land, and now something unspeakable has surfaced in the waters that cover Marinbad. When numerous area people go missing and scores of citizens perish under strange circumstances on the fortieth anniversary of the dam, it begins to appear as the one who was left for dead has risen from the depths. Director Brian Yuzna teams with The Fantastic Factory to adapt an original novel by author Matthew Costello. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This Spanish-French comedy set in South London seeks to demonstrate that human relationships provide an excellent example of chaos theory. Featuring a bilingual cast, the story centers on Luis, an introverted bookworm who travels to London, accompanied by his overbearing mother, to stay with his aunt Olivia. Olivia has a tempestuous relationship with a handsome television actor, Duncan. Her child belongs to him. With all these people together under one roof, the situation in the apartment is quite chaotic. However, Luis' mother eventually goes back home and Duncan, who is caught philandering at a party, gets the boot. Soon Luis and Olivia are having a torrid affair of their own until his mother returns and causes all sorts of trouble. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Two of the most talented figures in contemporary Spanish cinema -- actor Javier Bardem and director Alejandro Amenábar -- collaborate for this powerful drama, based on a true story. Ramón Sampedro (Javier Bardem) was a fisherman and part-time poet who, at the age of 26, suffered an accident while diving that left him a bedridden quadriplegic. Now 54, Ramón must depend on his family to survive -- his macho brother José (Celso Bugallo), José's wife, Manuela (Mabel Rivera), and their son, Javi (Tamar Novas). While grateful to his family and friends for their help, Ramón was always an active person, and as the years wore on, he has come to see his life as frustrating and pointless and wishes to die with what remains of his dignity. José, however, is bitterly opposed to the notion of assisted suicide, and Spanish laws would implicate anyone who helped Ramón end his own life, which is something Ramón does not want to do. Through Gené (Carla Segura), a friend who works with a "Right to Die" organization, Ramón is introduced to Julia (Belen Rueda), a lawyer he hopes will help him persuade the courts to let him end his own life. Julia is dealing with her own mortality issues since being diagnosed with a degenerative disease, and Ramón hopes her condition will make her arguments more persuasive. As Ramón and Julia work together on his case and help to prepare a book of his poems for publication, Ramón finds himself falling in love with his attorney, who happens to be married, but while his infatuation gives Julia second thoughts about the case, Ramón remains convinced that the greatest gift to him would be an end to his life. Javier Bardem's performance in The Sea Inside (aka Mar Adentro) earned him the Best Actor award at the 2004 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide