Cesar Benitez Movies

Norberto Lopez Amado's They're Watching Us is about a cop who becomes obsessed with a case. Juan (Carmelo Gomez) is ordered to head up an investigation concerning a businessman who has been missing for almost three years. The officer who worled on the case previously now resides in a mental institution and is unable to say anything other than, "They're watching us." A priest (Roberto Alvarez) explains how a series of disappearances in the area have supernatural underpinnings. As Juan is absorbed deeper and deeper into the case, his mother is concerned for him. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A pair of pink-collar workers short on cash decide to try a new part-time job -- bank robbery -- in this comedy. Lola (Ariana Ozores) and Silvia (Maribel Verdu) are two working-class women who are also best friends. Lola works on the cleaning crew at a bank and sometimes does odd jobs for her friend Maite (Carmen Maura), while Silvia is a beautician who is expecting a baby. Lola was once married to Gustavo (Jaime Pujol), a policeman, and while he wants to give their relationship another try, Lola isn't interested. His family hasn't been on good terms with Lola since the divorce, and one day they decide to evict her from the house she's been renting from Gustavo. Short on money and with few options, Lola and Silvia get the idea to rob the bank where Lola works. While Lola has access to the keys, she discovers the bank's funds aren't where she thought they were; determined to find out where the money is hidden, Silvia helps groom Lola into a sexy temptress so she can lure information from the bank's manager (Juan Gea) and give the robbery another try. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A guy with unusual romantic problems comes up with an even more unusual solution in this black comedy from Spain. Miguel (Alberto San Juan) is a man who can't bear to hurt a woman's feelings, which is how he ends up with three girlfriends at once -- Fina (Ana Risueno), who has a bad leg; Gloria (Balbina del Rosario), whose looks scare most men away; and Dori (Lina Mira), who needs to lose a lot of weight. Miguel is already having enough trouble juggling three improbable lovers when he meets Claudia (Patricia Velasquez), a lovely woman from France who is quite attracted to him. Miguel is very fond of Claudia, but he knows his three significant others would be heartbroken if he left them. So he comes up with what seems like a reasonable solution -- he'll simply kill his current girlfriends so he can start dating Claudia full time. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Antonio del Real directed this Spanish romantic comedy focusing on ad-agency career girl Lucia (Ana Alvarez) and her best friend, dance teacher Maria (Maria Adanez). Maria's boyfriend is the sexist Pablo (Jorge Sanz). One night Lucia puts away too much alcohol, sleeps with Pablo, and hatches a plan to have Pablo all to herself by finding a new man for Maria. She chooses unemployed actor Antonio (Eduardo Noriega), a handsome guy but not too bright. Since Antonio's brain in Spain is mainly on the wane, Lucia is forced to do a My Fair Lady upgrade on the raw material -- by educating Antonio during several Pygmalion-styled sessions. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Writer-directors Felix Sabroso and Dunia Ayaso made this Spanish comedy-drama with an "inside television" angle. TV host Miranda Vega (Maria Conchita Alonso) heads a variety talk-show format. Confronted with plummeting ratings, she is forced to try a different approach that brings singing hookers, drug addicts, and other no-talents into the studio. Miranda feuds with lesbian actress Marta Pena (Loles Leon), prompting Marta's companion Soraya (Malena Gustierrez), a "karate artiste," to participate in the variety show. Chaos reigns when the show goes on the air live. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Often referred to as a cousin to Pedro Almodovar or Bigas Luna, Manuel Gomez Pereira has been covering up his sharp social satire behind nice exteriors in his previous five films. No more nice guy, says Pereira, in an erotic tale of sex-o-mania. And with who else but ravishing Victoria Abril in the role of radio show assistant Miranda who just can't get enough! Miranda meets budding screenwriter Javier (Javier Bardem) during a group therapy session for sex addicts. Javier cannot live without regular telephone sex, while Miranda goes out every night in search of quick sexual encounters. They make love in the back of an abandoned car which has a corpse hidden inside its trunk. Miranda's jealous husband is the cop investigating the case.and it soon looks like Javier has been framed. There is quite a bit of Hitchcock here, which is acknowledged by Pereira. But on the whole, the film does not have a strong structure to carry the weight; the sex addiction theme of the first part goes out of focus when several subplots (unidentified corpse, etc.) distract the audience, resulting in a soft porno picture with little plausibility. The redeeming factor is the convincing acting by the sensual Victoria Abril. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

Following the death of her philandering husband Carlos in an automobile accident, Luci and her sisters Graci and Mari decide to go to a seaside resort to have some badly needed fun. Their riotous, romantic summer is recounted by Luci's 15-year-old son Domingo. Before the accident, his mother and her siblings were popular comediennes known as the Three Graces. While at Benidorm, the resort, Luci is periodically haunted by the specter of Carlos who by and by lets her know that he was with 34 women during their marriage. Knowing that, she doesn't feel so guilty about becoming involved with the shy and handsome Italian Salvatore, whom Domingo suspects is responsible for the accident that killed his father. While the youth wrestles with those issues, his aunts are busily involved with their new lovers. The ever-insecure aspiring actress Graci gets involved with Victor, a delivery man moonlighting as a thief. The brassy, blonde Mari gets involved with the oily Claudio, an adulterous married man who nearly has a breakdown when he discovers that his wife has been unfaithful too. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

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, Rovi

A troubled teen longing to flee his small hometown for the excitement of the big city finds his upcoming flight unexpectedly canceled by the tragic death of his mother in an affecting coming-of-age drama about poverty, grief, and the strength of the human connection. Martin is your average, everyday, 16-year-old rebel. Not much happens in Martin's impoverished, crime-ridden neighborhood, and upon hearing about life in the big city, the teen immediately begins making plans to strike out on his own. When he arrives home one day to discover that his mother has fallen to her death from the apartment window, Martin seeks solace in the arms of a sympathetic neighbor girl. As his grief turns to anger and eventually acceptance, Martin is forced to consider the prospect that his father may have played a key role in his mother's untimely death. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi