Pedro Diaz del Corral Movies

El Lute (Imanol Arias) is a rebel prisoner who escapes on New Years Eve to rejoin his family in this historical adventure. He and his brothers evade the Civil Guards as they rob banks and engage in shootouts with the enemy. El Lute is once again captured but is pardoned after the death of Franco. He remains a hero, with exploits and escapes that constantly befuddled his adversaries. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

This is a comprehensive docudrama (focusing more on truth than fiction) on the two weeks in 1936 that preceded Francisco Franco's war for control of Spain. The "Dragon Rapide" was the name of the plane that carried the fascist Generalissimo to Morocco and the beginning of the end of the Republican government in Spain. Plots and counterplots by a seemingly infinite array of militarists plague Spanish politics as Franco gathers his forces together and makes his plans. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In the ancient Phoenician city now known as Almería on the southeastern coast of Spain, three Civil Guards were convicted in 1981 of torturing and then murdering three men that were suspected Basque terrorists. This well-paced and suspenseful docudrama is about that case and how the courageous prosecutor -- insightfully interpreted by Agustín Gonzalez -- had to persevere in the face of death threats to himself and his family, had to brave the ominous power of the Civil Guards of Spain, and had to overcome the judges' reluctance to proceed with the case. The chilling presence of the Civil Guards at every turn in the court trial are like fascist remnants from the rule of Francisco Franco that ended only five years or so before these murders were committed. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Jose (Alfredo Landa) has what to outside eyes looks like a good life. He has a fine job as an advertising executive, a lovely wife and children, and a country house. However, on one weekend, his mother-in-law is carping at him, and at the same time his lawn mower won't work, and he gets no satisfaction from a pick-up soccer game. These are just a few of the annoyances which lead his wife, in sympathy, to set fire to their weekend retreat. Rather than being upset, he calmly joins her in watching it burn, before returning by car to Madrid. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Aurora is a dedicated feminist in the early part of this century, who doesn't need men in her life. She successfully arranges to be impregnated by a man so that she can have a child. The child turns out to be the girl Hildegart, an intellectual prodigy, gifted at languages, music, and literature. She is the center of Aurora's life. However, when Hildegart begins to show what her mother considers to be an unbecoming interest in boys and men, a betrayal of her mother's principles, she executes her one night while she is asleep. This movie slowly unravels the story of Hildegart's birth, development and murder as it emerges during a 1933 murder trial. The story is based on the novel Aurora de Sangre by Eduardo de Guzman. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Manuel Summers wrote and directed this two-story feature that deals with young and old love. A young boy (Pedro Diez del Corral) is in love with an older girl of 14 (Cristina Galbo Sanchez). He becomes obsessed with winning her love as the girl enjoys playing with his affections. He goes off to summer camp convinced she loves him, but he comes back to find she is going with another boy. Although he is heartbroken, the resilient lad takes comfort in the fact that he is now able to wear long pants. In the second story, two residents of an old folks home for the poor express their love through letters to each other. Valentin (Jose Vincente Cerrudo) and Josefa (Angelina Onesati) are separated by gender by the rules of the institution like all other residents and only see each other up close at church every week. Valentin comes back from the city after running an errand and tries to talk Josefa into running away with him. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi