Javier López Blanco Movies
- 2009
What actions should take when one witnesses one's most trusted mentor and advisor committing uxoricide? That is the plight that befalls Vicente (Tristan Ulloa); a lower-level professor at a Law School in Spain, he not only regards senior professor Fernando (Emilio Gutierrez Aragon) as his closest friend and colleague, but relies on Fernando for counsel and direction, as a father figure and an emotional anchor. That begins to change rather rapidly when Vicente catches Fernando brutally murdering his beloved wife. Vincente cannot quite force himself to turn Fernando in, but even after Fernando offers a convincing explanation, Vincente can neither forgive Fernando nor drive the images out of his mind. Instead of running to the police, Vincente remains silent (which makes him an accomplice), yet tells Fernando to permanently stay out of his life. Then additional bodies begin to pile up. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tristan Ulloa, Emilio Gutierrez Aragon, (more)
- 2007
Abandoned by her husband and left alone when her daughter leaves home for school, forty-four year old mobile phone company executive Luisa vows to seduce a handsome coworker who only has eyes for the pretty young salesgirl. Luisa feels like a ghost: she's got to family at home, and everyone at her work seems to look straight through her. One night, at a work party, Luisa becomes incensed when her co-worker Jorge ignores her in favor of cozying up to pretty salesgirl Marina. Whereas Jorge and Luisa are just about the same age, Marina is much younger and far more naïve. Perhaps with a little help from her actress friend and a sprightly table tennis coach, Luisa can finally make the personal transformation needed to steal Jorge's gaze away from that pretty young salesgirl. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Bouzas, Adolfo Fernández, (more)
A mismatched couple discovers that whatever can go wrong will go wrong during a family visit in this comedy. Leni (Marian Aguilera) is a television reporter from a Jewish family in Spain. One weekend, Leni drops by her family's home for a visit, with her new boyfriend, college professor Rafi (Guillermo Toledo), in tow. Rafi is more than a bit nervous about meeting Leni's family -- chronically nervous mother Gloria (Norma Aleandro), blustery father Ernesto (Mario Martin), dance-student sister Tania (María Botto), straight-laced bother David (Fernando Ramallo), and addled grandfather Dudu (Max Berliner). But Leni quickly makes matters worse when she announces to her family, who are waiting for Ernesto to return from work, that Rafi just happens to be Palestinian. Matters become a bit tense after that, and while joking with Leni with a block of frozen soup in the kitchen, Rafi accidentally drops the package out the window -- hitting a man on the head who might be Ernesto. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norma Aleandro, Guillermo Toledo, (more)
Gerardo Herrero's political drama El Misterio Galíndez (The Galindez File) uses the real life 1956 disappearance of Spanish political refugee Jesus de Galindez as its subject. Saffron Burrows plays a privileged college girl named Muriel who travels to Spain in order to finish her doctoral thesis about political rebellion; Galindez is the main focus of her work. With the help of a pair of locals (Guillermo Toledo and Txema Blasco), she learns that Galindez was publicly critical of the Dominican Republic's political leaders who may have been responsible for his death. Muriel eventually travels to Miami in order to uncover the truth. She is opposed throughout her search by an FBI agent (Harvey Keitel) who wants keep the truth hidden as it would reveal unpleasant facts about the United States' role in his disappearance. The film was screened at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Saffron Burrows, Harvey Keitel, (more)
Based on Lorenzo F. Aristarian's novel Rebirth and directed by Adolfo Aristarian, Common Places is a family drama from Argentina. College professor Fernando (Federico Luppi) and his devoted social worker wife Liliana (Mercedes Sampietro) live in a modest apartment in Buenos Aires. When he is forced into retirement and she is at risk of losing her job due to poor funding, they decide to visit their son, Pedro (Carlos Santamaria), who has a comfortable bourgoise lifestyle in Spain. After the father and son express their differences, Liliana and Fernando sell their apartment and buy a house in rural Cordoba. The middle-aged couple enjoy their new setting until Fernando develops pneumonia. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Federico Luppi, Mercedes Sampietro, (more)
- 2000
Ramon (Jorge Alcazar), a shy and overweight 15-year-old, invites a school friend and the pal's girlfriend over one day to watch a video of Natural Born Killers. As luck and a heavy dose of irony would have it, Ramon accidentally slashes his friend's throat while tearing open a can of nuts, causing the girlfriend to flee in terror and a concerned neighbor to intervene, whom Ramon unwittingly knocks down the stairs to his death. Soon the unfortunate teen has been placed in a halfway house for troubled youths while his case awaits a full inquiry. Enter Marcelo (Alex Casanovas), a successful lawyer who has taken on Ramon's case as a favor to the teen's sister Gloria (Pepa Pedroche), who happens to be an old friend. Slowly Ramon begins to trust Marcelo and a friendly social worker (Guillermo Toledo), and forms a friendship with his ailing roommate, Anibal (Alberto Ferreiro). Ramon's emotional development is mirrored by that of Marcelo, whose involvement with the case forces him to come to grips with issues in his own life. El Otro Barrio is the second feature of writer/director Salvador Garcia Ruiz, who made a splash on the international festival circuit with his 1998 debut Mensaka. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alex Casanovas
A man finds he's still a stranger in a nation where he's lived for half a decade in this tense drama. Mario (Ernesto Alterio), born and raised in Spain, has spent five years living in Morocco overseeing a business for his father Victor (Adolfo Fernandez), with whom he has a contentious relationship. Shorty before he is scheduled to come home, Mario is asked by Victor to look in on his half-sister Laura (Elena Ballesteros), who is traveling through Morocco. Having had little contact with Laura, Mario is surprised when she turns out to be a lovely young woman with a provocative manner. After spending an evening with her, Mario accidentally kills a sheep while driving back to his flat, which raises the ire of the locals, and the next day Laura disappears while shopping at the kasbah. Mario thinks the sheep's owner may be responsible, but when he approaches the man about Laura's whereabouts, a fight breaks out, and Mario is arrested. The police accuse Mario of murdering Laura, and Victor retains the services of a hired gun, Rodrigo (Jose Sancho. Mario needs to find Laura quickly, and Brahim (Mehdi Ouazzani), who lives in town, offers to track her down on the condition that Mario then escort him to his family in the southern part of the country. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ernesto Alterio, Jose Sancho, (more)
- 1998
A "mensaka" is a motorbike messenger. In this Spanish drama, mensaka David (Gustavo Salmeron) is a drummer in a band about to sign a recording contract. Problems arise when drug dealer Ricardo (Guillermo Toledo) moves in with David and his girlfriend Bea (Laia Marull), while band member Javi (Tristan Ulloa) falls for junkie Cristina (Lola Duenas). Salvador Garcia Ruiz directed the Luis Marias screenplay, adapted from Jose Angel Manas's novel. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gustavo Salmerón, Tristan Ulloa, (more)
- 1997
In the midst of the danger and destruction of Sarajevo during the Bosnian conflict, a brave, dedicated group of war correspondents from all over the world gathered to bring the terrifying war into the lives of others. In the name of ratings and personal glory, these newshounds regularly risk their lives to get their stories. This war drama centers on three such reporters. Spanish newswoman Laura is more accustomed to doing "puff pieces" than hard news. This is her first time in Sarajevo and the experience is nearly overwhelming. At first the sophisticated veteran newscaster Mikel scoffs at her inexperience, but eventually the two connect and become lovers. Meanwhile, Mikel's fearless cameraman José anxiously awaits the destruction of the city's last remaining bridge. As Laura travels about the ruined town chronicling events and interviewing residents, she begins to lose her innocence and in so doing, gains painful insight into herself. At one point she finds herself entering the marketplace, a particularly dangerous sniper-inhabited location that has been dubbed by the others as "Comanche Territory." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cecilia Dopazo, Bruno Todeschini, (more)
Upon learning that his estranged son in Buenos Aires may have attempted suicide by mixing dog tranquilizers with booze, expatriate Argentine film director Martin immediately leaves Madrid. Upon his arrival in Argentina, he learns that his ex-wife has given up on the aimless, depressive 19-year-old and wants him to contend with the youth back in Spain. Martin agrees, and his son, who is also named Martin, returns with him. Martin, Sr. lives with his cocaine-addicted, much-younger girlfriend Alicia and their mutual friend Dante, a homosexual actor. Though at some level, he cares for both, he is just too emotionally removed to ever show it. It is the same with his son, whom he calls H (pronounced "hache"), meaning hijo or son. Still, each member in the strange family attempts to reach the zombie-like boy, whose only interests seem to be the pursuit of sex and drugs. Essentially an internal drama centered around numerous intense and challenging conversations, this entry from Argentine filmmaker Adolfo Aristarain will most likely appeal to those who love intellectual cinema. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Federico Luppi, Juan Diego Botto, (more)
Set in a dusty, remote Peruvian village, a police captain finds himself flirting with, and eventually seduced by, his darker nature after he begins investigating a bizarre, gruesome series of ritual killings that may be linked to the sacrificial rites of an ancient Indian civilization. After finding the eyeless heads of several young men, captain Percy heads for the office of Catalino Pinto, the curator of a local museum who is also an expert on ancient cultures. It is Pinto who opens the door and leads Percy down a ruinous path of death from which there can be no return. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In post-Franco Spain, a woman is hard-pressed to figure out what the new rules for women are. In this melodrama based on the novel by Almudena Grandes, Malena (newcomer Adriana Gil) explores life and relationships in the ever-changing world she finds herself in. Complicating matters for Malena is the example of her older sister, Reina, who is impeccably well-behaved. What's a girl to do except seek solace in the arms of as many men as possible? As she stumbles from catastrophe to catastrophe, Malena becomes her family's poster-child for what not to do with one's life. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1988
This South American melodrama was released in English-speaking countries as The Lion's Den. The film's backdrop is the long (and to some, never-ending) period of civil unrest in Peru. Government troops are pinned down by enemy fire in a remote Peruvian village. The tension is unbearable as the troops wonder when and where the communist guerillas will strike next. Comparisons to Vietnam are not only welcomed but openly encouraged. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gustavo Bueno, Tono Vega, (more)
