Laura del Sol Movies

Combining romance, science fiction and a political parable, Furia takes place in the future, after an oppressive government, which has shut down all political opposition, recognizes art as a means of free expression -- and therefore bans painting on public surfaces. Theo (Stanislas Merhar) is an activist artist who creates paintings on walls under the cover of darkness, despite the fact his bother Laurence (Wadek Stanczak) works with the local government. Their father Aaron (Pierre Vaneck), a local barkeep, used to paint, but when he was caught, the color was taken from his eyes and now he can only see in monochrome. When Theo meets another rebel artist, the lovely Elia (Marion Cotillard), he's immediately smitten, and when she's arrested and subjected to torture, Theo tries to have himself caught so he can be with her (and protect her) behind bars. Furia was adapted by director and co-screenwriter Alexandre Aja from a short story by Julio Cortazar, an Argentinian refugee who fled to Paris in the era when rebellious citizens were "disappearing" -- 30,000 in all. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This dark and intense drama follows the slow and painful destruction of a young, passive woman as she watches her family fall apart. Maria is the shy and dutiful daughter upon whose shoulders the family traumas have fallen. In addition to a regular job she cooks, cleans, and studies. Her parents offer no assistance as her father is blind, with a tendency towards violence when drinking. His wife, the focus of his violence is terribly unhappy. After a particularly brutal beating, Maria's brothers rise up against the father and end up leaving the home. It is up to Maria to try to bring the factions together. Maria's pressures increase after she calmly stabs her boss during an attempted rape, and then copes with her mother's suicide. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

It is not necessary to know that this story is based on a true incident in order to enjoy it; in real life, a man landed in a major European airport without the necessary papers, and while authorities worked (slowly, ever-so slowly) to resolve his citizenship status, he lived and worked there, unable to leave either by air or by foot. This situation lasted for years. In the current movie, Arturo (Jean Rochefort) has flown into France from Montreal. He holds dual French and Canadian citizenship, but all his papers were stolen from him while he was at the Canadian airport without his knowledge. He is married to a Spanish woman and lives in Rome. This confusion of visas and nationalities is too great for the authorities to sort out quickly, and he settles into a behind-the-scenes existence at the airport while he awaits developments. There, he discovers a whole international community of the stranded, a nation-within-a-nation. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Amelia (Laura del Sol) lives with her sister in a lovely house in Valparaiso with a view of the harbor. She is comfortably well off, but for some reason during an evening outing, a doctor named Fernando (Franco Nero) takes her to be a prostitute. Already smitten with him, she allows him to take her where he will and pay her for her attentions, never letting him know that he is her only "customer." This goes on for some time. Later, however, the sisters' finances take a turn for the worse, and Amelia puts her amateur hooking skills to good use, that is until tragedy strikes. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

When a father attempts to return to his abandoned family after 23 years his grown son tries to murder his drunk, unemployed father. ~ All Movie Guide

The spirit, hopes, and failures of a troupe of itinerant performers in the 1950s create a poignant, humorous leitmotif in this drama by Fernando Fernan-Gomez. The story of the wandering players is told in flashbacks, as Carlos Galvan (Jose M. Sacristan) reminisces about the good times while under therapy with a psychiatrist in a senior citizens' home. Carlos and his lover Juanita (Laura del Sol), his teenage son, his father, and a few other actors try to eke out a living by putting on shows in small towns and villages. No one has very much money, but life is lived to the hilt, and Carlos himself has some pretty tall tales. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

El Amor Brujo is a filmed record of the little-known Spanish ballet by Manuel de Falla. The plot involves two gypsies, male and female, who are united in an arranged marriage. Each loves someone else, a circumstance that results in a fatal knife duel. The climax of the ballet involves the girl's torn loyalties between the ghost of her dead husband and her living lover. Antonio Gades, Cristina Hoyos, Laura del Sol and Juan Antonio Jimenez are the principal dancers in this well-photographed oddity. El Amor Brujo was the third in director Carlos Saura's flamenco trilogy, preceded by his far more successful Blood Wedding (1981) and Carmen (1983). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this offbeat crime film, Willie Parker (Terence Stamp) an English mobster turned informant, has been given a new identity and has been living in a small, isolated village in Spain for 10 years. Unfortunately for Parker, the men he has betrayed have ascertained his whereabouts and send Braddock (John Hurt), a professional hitman, and his apprentice Myron (Tim Roth) to bring Parker to Paris where his ex-associates await. After kidnapping Parker, nothing goes as planned. Now they are followed by a Spanish policeman (Fernando Rey) who seems to anticipate each of their moves, and they are burdened by Maggie (Laura del Sol), the mistress of a fellow mobster they were forced to kill. What should have been a routine hit becomes a psychological battle between all the participants as Parker, in a fight for time and for his life, plays one against the other. Set against the bleak Spanish landscape and featuring evocative and memorable theme music, the film builds to a surprising conclusion where the true nature of all the characters is revealed. Terence Stamp develops the character of Parker in a subtle but surprisingly comic performance and Laura del Sol shines as a woman who will do what is necessary to survive. Tim Roth, in his film debut, plays a brutal, but oddly endearing thug. But it is John Hurt, in a sensitive and nuanced performance, who brings a perceptive intelligence and depth to his role which adds a philosophical and psychological dimension to the film. Hurt plays his difficult role without a misstep and with a rare economy of action. Thoughtful and frequently amusing, The Hit, superbly written by Peter Prince, is both a compelling and suspenseful crime drama and also a deep and profound meditation on life, death and courage. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Director Carlos Saura's Carmen develops a fictional story revolving around the rehearsals of Georges Bizet's opera about the brash and colorful cigarette factory woman and her dalliance with the soldier Don José, and eventual love for Escamillo, the bullfighter. Saura introduces exciting flamenco dance scenes and a love story between Antonio (Antonio Gades), the choreographer of the opera, and the actress playing Carmen, Laura del Sol. Joan Sutherland and Paco de Lucía also perform segments from Bizet's 1875 opera. The mix of magical choreography, rousing flamenco dances, and operatic insertions as well as the tongue-in-cheek parodies of the French opera and foreign stereotypes of Spaniards keeps most viewers well entertained throughout. Saura's Carmen won an award for "Artistic Contribution" and for "Technical Achievement" at the Cannes Film Festival in 1983, another award for "Technical Achievement" at the 1983 Venice Film Festival, and the "Best Foreign Language Film" award at the 1984 British Academy Awards. It was the second in a trilogy of films choreographed in a similar style by Antonio Gades. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide