Aitana Sanchez-Gijon Movies

A case of serendipity extends itself over many years in Italian director Silvio Muccino's bittersweet romantic drama Parlami d'amore (Let's Talk About Love). Aitana Sanchez-Gijon stars as Nicole, a quadragenarian housewife in a supremely dysfunctional marriage, and Silvio Muccino is Sasha, the twenty-year-old son of a drug-addicted mother and father; the pair meet when their cars crash one fateful evening and they accidentally injure a dog in the process. Taking the canine to a veterinary hospital, the two strangers sense a latent attraction to one another and swap phone numbers but (for unspoken reasons) refrain from calling each other for a lengthy period of time. In that interim, Sasha becomes unwisely attracted to a low-class girl with barrel-bottom standards; unacquainted with the young woman, Nicole offers Sasha advice that helps him win the girl's heart. In time, however, the new girlfriend drags Sasha into heavy gambling and unsavory company, and Sasha and Nicole subsequently begin to realize just how perfect the two of them are for one another. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Three couples deal with the sticky issue of infidelity in this comedy-drama from Spanish filmmaker Ventura Pons. Silvio (Jose Coronado) is a well-to-do business executive who is seemingly happily married to Marcia (Cecilia Rossetto). However, Silvio is convinced Marcia is cheating on him, and frequently spies on her -- ironically enough, he usually does so during assignations with his mistress, posh interior designer Claudia (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon). Meanwhile, Daniel (Marc Cartes), who works with Claudia, is enjoying a vacation with his wife Irina (Cristina Plazas), a front desk clerk at the hotel where Silvio usually romps with Claudia. Daniel is hoping the getaway will help put the spark back into their marriage, but he soon discovers Irina's head has been turned by a trainer from a nearby health spa. And finally, Mariela (Patricia Arredondo), Silvio's housekeeper, has stated dating Jorge Washington (Gerardo Zamora), who has only recently come to Spain from Peru. While Mariela has fallen hard for Jorge, he's impressed by the romantic and material opportunities his new hometown provides. Animals Ferits (aka Wounded Animals) was adapted from a collection of short stories by Jordi Punti. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Brad Anderson directs the psychological thriller The Machinist, a production of Spain's Filmax company. Christian Bale plays Trevor Reznik, a factory lathe operator who has developed a serious case of insomnia. Lack of sleep has already started to wear down on his brain and his body. When he's involved in an accident at work, his co-workers turn against him. He starts to find strange notes in his apartment and see people that apparently aren't there. Jennifer Jason Leigh stars as call girl Stevie. The Machinist premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

A close circle of friends and relatives become involved in a complicated game of musical beds in a spicy satirical comedy for adults. Angel (Sergi Lopez) is married to Ana (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon), but while he stays with her for the sake of their four children, he hasn't been very happy in their relationship for some time, and is often unfaithful to his wife. Angel's brother, Hermano (Pepon Nieto), has just the opposite problem; his wife seems to have lost interest in him, and he discovers she's been having an affair with his boss. As Hermano tries to hold on to what's left of his pride, Ana becomes convinced Angel has been unfaithful to her, and in order to test her husband, she convinces her friend Amiga (Maria Esteve) to try and seduce Angel. The plan works a bit too well, and Amiga ends up sleeping with Angel. Ana tries to convince herself that this shouldn't affect her friendship with Amiga, but to spite her husband, she begins having an affair with Hermano -- something she keeps a secret from her husband until she finds him in flagrante delicto with his secretary. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Based on a historical novel by Antonio Larreta, Volaverunt imagines a number of romantic misadventures that enlivened the court of King Carlos IV, a Spanish ruler of the early 19th century. As the story opens, the beautiful Duchess of Alba (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon) is sharing a coach passing through Andalusia with artist Francisco de Goya (Jorge Perugorria), Prime Minister Manuel de Godey (Jordi Molla), and Pepita Tudo (Penelope Cruz), a peasant girl. Goya and de Godey are obviously charmed by the Duchess's exotic beauty and free-spirited attitude, but the Prime Minister is equally smitten with Pepita. The Prime Minister invites her to the royal court in Madrid, where she becomes his mistress and the subject of several of Goya's paintings. However, Queen Maria Luisa (Stefania Sandrelli) disapproves of de Godey's new love, and instead arranges for him to marry the Countess de Chinchon (Maria Alonso), a plain-Jane member of low-level royalty. The Duchess is upset with de Godey's marriage, as it keeps her away from a collection of royal jewelry she covets. When the Duchess suddenly and mysteriously dies, Goya, de Godey, and Pepita are all murder suspects and must confess where they were and what they were doing at the moments leading up to her death. While the film itself received mixed notices, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon received the Silver Shell as Best Actress at the 1999 San Sebastian Film Festival. The version screened at San Sebastian and several other festivals in the fall of 1999 was director Bigas Luna's original cut; the film's producers announced that the film would be re-edited for international release. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Upon learning that her husband may be the reason why she has been unable to conceive, a woman desperate to bear children finds her moral values and her yearning for motherhood in conflict in this drama based on the tale by Federico Garcia Lorca and directed by Pilar Tavora. Yerma (Sanchez-Gijon) and her husband have been attempting to have children for some time to no avail, and when a local wise woman confides in her that it may have something more to do with Yerma's husband than with the eager mother-to-be, Yerma's growing resentment toward her spouse causes her to consider seducing Victor, the town shepherd. When her morals force her to abandon her plan, Yerma's internal conflict soon begins to take its toll on her mental health. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In this musical drama, a tango tribute set in Buenos Aires of the '30s, factory worker Juanita (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon) goes with musician Gustavo (Juan Echanove) who plays in a tango combo with singer Renzo (Dario Grandinetti), known for his resemblance to famed tango superstar Carlos Gardel (who died in a 1935 plane crash). Juanita ditches Gustavo for Renzo, and when Gardel is unable to do a radio commercial, a substitution by Renzo brings enough fame to propel the group on a Latin American tour. Renzo visits a Colombia hotel where Gardel is staying, and when Gardel returns to Argentina, Renzo once again serves as a replacement, this time in a live performance -- but fate steps in as Renzo heads home. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Victor wants to be a famous actor and so has come to Madrid in search of work. There he meets representatives of a Hollywood film company. They want him to appear in their next film as a real macho man. Meanwhile Victor works for a phone sex company and is called by lonely, closeted plastic surgeon, Ricardo and his "wife" Amanda. This riotous Spanish comedy chronicles what happens when Victor and Amanda fall in love. To help her get a divorce, he offers to take incriminating photos of himself and Ricardo making love so that she can sue for divorce. When he learns that Amanda is not Ricardo's wife, Victor is very surprised. Meanwhile, the real wife, Angela and her lover, her husband's business partner, want to kill Ricardo. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This lively western from Spain centers on the exploits of a wealthy young troublemaker who escapes from a Franciscan monastery and teams up with a handsome country boy who has run away from the Army. Together the two try to become outlaws and pose as gang members under the notorious El Argentino, an outlaw who plies his trade upon the border of Portugal and Galicia in northern Spain. The two "bandidos" steal horses and rob a taxman as they flee for the border. Along the way another fellow joins them. Much to their surprise, the fellow turns out to be a female reporter for the New York Times, hoping to interview El Argentino. Unfortunately, the outlaws have never met him. They meet him soon enough when he captures them. Proving to be a vain but basically good-hearted outlaw, he spares them and together they all take off with the Civil Guard hot on their trail. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This action-filled Spanish melodrama takes dramatic license with the facts surrounding the illegal slave trade in early nineteenth century Cuba. It is 1820 and Amelia has recently been wed to Ton, a Cuban plantation owner whom she barely knows as part of a business contract. With Ton's sinister best friend as her chaperone, Amelia reluctantly leaves Spain. During the long sea voyage, Alfons leads a mutiny and the ship detours to Africa where they fill up the hold with slaves. In Havana, Amelia is appalled to find her husband has been sleeping with slaves and colonial wives. For revenge, Amelia attempts to expose Alfons' and Ton's illegal activities to the authorities and to their families. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This international co-production is loosely based on the works of Dostoyevsky (most notably The Eternal Husband) but it is set and lensed in Prague. Musician and incorrigible duellist Milan (Tim Roth) seduces Teresa (Ana Belen), the wife of his unsuspecting friend Franz (Peter Firth). Many years later, after Teresa's death, Franz comes to Milan with a little daughter. Milan suspects that Franz knows about his longtime affair with Teresa and that the daughter might be Milan's own. When the girl dies from a grave illness, Milan challenges Franz, but the latter refuses to shoot him at the duel. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide

After the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), Spain was governed by the moralistic and occasionally heavy-handed Falangist regime of General Francisco Franco. However, as time passed, the government's strict restrictions on public behavior, divorce and so on were eased. Compared to the 1940s in Spain, 1968 was a period of almost licentious ease. Even though very little of the generational turmoil that seethed throughout the developed world at the time reached Spain, enough did to be noticeable. This story tells what happens when a relatively "liberal" man who chose voluntary exile after the war returns to visit his family and friends during this period. Jesus (Jose Soriano) is distressed to find the values he cherished seemingly part of the past, as he reunites with his family. He visits his brother's divorced wife and watches her become senseless with drink, and hears curse words freely used at a bar during a card game. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide