David Trueba Movies

A veteran journalist and a pretty young student get an intimate glimpse at the generational gap that divides them as their country struggles with great social and political turmoil in this drama from Chico and Rita director Fernando Trueba. When Miguel sits down with Ángela in a Madrid café, the eager student hopes to get an interview for a class project, while the celebrated journalist think only of seduction. Later, as the tensions in the street seem to rise with the mercury in the thermometer, the two somehow find themselves trapped together naked in a bathroom. Their repeated cries for rescue unheard by the outside world, Miguel and Ángela gradually enter into an intricate psychological struggle in which the balance of power continually shifts between the wise old reporter and the hungry young truth-seeker. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

With his gentle ensemble comedy Bienvenido a casa (aka Welcome Home), Spanish director David Trueba meditates on one man's passage from youth to the emotional maturity of adulthood. In the process, Trueba takes a wise and reflective look at the dynamics of contemporary relationships, romantic and otherwise. Alejo Sauras is Samuel, an aspiring photographer who makes the broad leap from his rural village in the Spanish countryside -- where he lives under the thumb of his domineering mother -- to the wonderland of urban Madrid. He moves in with his girlfriend, Eva (Pilar Lopez de Ayala), and accepts a position as resident photojournalist for a local culture magazine, where his eccentric colleagues include a slightly embittered, blind movie critic (with a blind guide dog), a burnt-out sports columnist, and a depressed vocalist/instrumentalist who pens the music column. Through the various employees, Trueba reveals a spectrum of attitudes toward love and romance. The remainder of the story finds Samuel teaming up with the magazine's reporter, Sandra, for an investigative story on a murder related to human trafficking. Meanwhile, Samuel begins to grapple, privately, with problems in his marital life -- specifically, how to preserve the love, romance, and devotion he feels for Eva (and she for him). Samuel's watchful mother cautions him not to repeat the same mistakes that she once made -- but the past comes back to haunt Samuel in the guise of a fateful encounter with a childhood friend, Nieves. Then, suddenly, Eva announces her pregnancy. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

A woman uncovers some unsettling truths about her country and its history in this drama from Spain. Lola (Ariadna Gil) is a writer who feels creatively stifled and hasn't been able to work out a new idea in months. Looking for something to clear her creative block, She takes an assignment to write a piece about Rafael Sanchez Mazas (Ramon Fontsere), a writer who sided with the fascists during the Spanish Civil War. While legend has it Mazas was killed by Republican troops, the truth is he was given protection and shelter by Friends of the Forest, a group of men who lived in the woods. As Lola tries to search out Joaquim Figueras, one of the last surviving Friends of the Forest, she discovers a soldier who captured Mazas and was prepared to shoot him, but opted to let him go at the last moment. As Lola's writer's block dissolves, she digs deeper in search of the truth about this elusive man and his mysterious actions during the war. Soldados de Salamina was based on a true story and the real-life Joaquim Figueras appears in the film, along with several other people who took part in the shelter and capture of Mazas. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The rich and passionate sounds of Spanish flamenco music provide the backdrop for this emotional drama of two families at war. Caco (Antonio Canales) is a man whose family has long been at odds with the Caravacas, a prominent family living in the same village. Mario, Caco's brother, murdered one of the Caravacas, and now the family is out for blood, with Mario's son Diego (Orestes Villasan Rodriguez) the expected target. Caco has lost a daughter of his own, whom Diego loved, and Caco is determined to spare his nephew the same fate. But guarding the young man is no easy task in the hilly country of southern Spain. Vengo also features performances by a number of noted flamenco performers, including La Paquera de Jerez. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Post-Franco filmmaker Fernando Trueba's first Spanish-based feature since 1993's Oscar-winning Belle Epoque, La Nina de Tus Ojos begins in 1938, when Spain is torn by Civil War. As a sign of cordiality between General Franco and Adolph Hitler, a Spanish film crew is invited to Nazi Germany's UFA Studios in Berlin to make two versions of a popular Andalusian musical. The cast includes sexy, golden-hearted Macarena (Penélope Cruz), director Blas Fontiveros (Antonio Resines), leading man Julian Torralba (Jorge Sanz), art director Castillo (Santiago Segura) and alcoholic Rosa Rosales (Rosa Maria Sarda). On arrival, they gape at the resplendent shooting facilities, thankful to escape the misery of their war-torn country. However, it is not long before they realize what they have got themselves into, particularly when Nazi propaganda minister Josef Goebbels (Johannes Silberschneider) falls for the Latina charms of Macarena. German actress of Fassbinder fame Hanna Schygulla makes a cameo appearance as the wizened wife of the lustful propaganda minister. La Nina de Tus Ojos competed in the 49th Berlin International Film Festival in 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

Circumstances force an unexpected maturity onto 15-year-old Tristan (Fernando Ramallo), an only child who had already been trying quite hard to "grow up" by losing his virginity. He accomplishes this easily enough by arranging for a prostitute to visit his home while his parents are off on a trip. But the life lesson he learns is different from what he'd intended when he learns of his parents' death in an airplane crash. When he moves into his grandparent's home, changes schools and falls in love for the first time, he is no longer able to keep intact his earlier snobberies and childish self-importance. This Spanish-language film is set in the later period of Francisco Franco's rule ('60s and '70s) and features excellent performances by its young cast. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi