Marta Belaustegui Movies

The fall and rise of one woman's life and career is chronicled in this drama from Spain. Sonia (Marta Belaustegui) is an executive at a clothing firm who is married to Andres (Alberto Jiménez), an architect. Sonia's job has become increasingly stressful lately thanks to the abusive behavior of her boss, Nicolas (Manuel Morón), which drives a wedge between her and Andres. Sonia's close friend Rocio (Blanca Oteyza) is having similar problems in her marriage to Mariano (Roberto Enriquez) due to her dissatisfaction with her career; sympathetic to her problems, Sonia helps Rocio get a job with her company. Rocio quickly becomes a major player within the company and is advanced into a position that Sonia had wanted for herself; adding insult to injury, Rocio begins having an affair with Andres. Before long, Sonia has lost both her job and her man; starting her career she begins working with a labor union representing garment workers, where she makes friends with Carmen (Vicky Pena), who helps her see the importance of caring about others and working as a group rather than pursuing only individual interests. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A homicide detective with a hangover discovers that he may be his own prime suspect in this twisting Spanish thriller in the tradition of Intacto and Abre los Ojos. After awakening in an unfamiliar house with a pounding headache, homicide detective Javier arrives at work only to be assigned a murder investigation on the same street where the mysterious house is located. When all clues point to Javier as the perpetrator of the crime, the perplexed detective slowly establishes a bizarre relationship with the victim's grieving family while simultaneously attempting to figure out how a mysterious femme fatale with a penchant for blackmail might fit into the deadly puzzle. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The admonition "neither a borrower nor a lender be" takes on new meaning in this drama from Spain, which looks at the unexpected effects of a loan on three friends. Carlos (Sergi Calleja) has dinner every few weeks with two close friends from his college days, Marta (Marta Belaustegui) and Santiago (Joel Joan). One night, Carlos asks a rather large favor of them; he's having a cash-flow problem with his new business and asks them to loan him 20,000 dollars each to cover bills, promising to repay the money as soon as possible. Marta and Santiago agree, but it's six months before Carlos can make good on his payment. In the meantime, much changes for the three friends; Marta and her husband Guillermo (Jose Tome) split up, Santiago calls off his relationship with Sol (Paz Gomez) to take up with Letitia (Ana Duato), and Carlos' wife Ainhoa (Lola Duenas) finds herself tempted into infidelity. Las Razones de Mis Amigos had its North American premiere at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival, where it was well received. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Spanish dancing sensation Joaquin Cortes plays his first major dramatic role in this story about a musician who is struggling to put personal misfortune behind him. Andres (Cortes) is a flamenco singer who has just gotten out of prison after being falsely convicted of the murder of Romero (Antonio Carmona), a member of his band. As Andres tries to reacclimate himself to freedom, he discovers things have not been going his way while he was up the river; his wife Lucia (Laetitia Casta) is having an affair with another man, while his bullying father Isidoro (Manuel de Blas) is obsessed with getting revenge against Don Manuel, who rules a local crime syndicate known as the Junco Family. Word on the street has it that members of the Junco Family killed Romero while he was defending Andres in a fight; Don Manuel is also the father of Lucia, as well as Lola (Marta Belaustegui), the wife of another of Andres' bandmates, El Peque (Gines Garcia Millan), who wants Andres to put his problems behind him and get back on the road. Andres is eager to get his career going again, but he discovers Chino (Jose Manuel Lorenzo), a cop on the take, has been following him, with record company bigwig Manfredi (Juan Fernandez) paying him to dig up dirt on the flamenco. As well as introducing Joaquin Cortes, Gitano features French supermodel Laetitia Casta in her second acting role; her voice was dubbed into Spanish by actress Ana Fernandez. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Love, larceny, and misunderstanding make for comedy in this humorous crime thriller from Spain. Jon (Joseba Apaolaza) is a bank teller engaged to his boss's daughter. But a chance meeting with his former girlfriend Carmen (Marta Belaustegui) gives Jon second thoughts, and he skips out of the wedding at the last minute, with the bride waiting at the altar. To the surprise of no one, Jon is fired; a few days later, his friend Javier (Isidoro Fernandez) knocks over the bank where Jon used to work, with the help of his girlfriend Candela (Cayetana Guillen Cuervo). Jon, strapped for cash, calls Javier and asks for some money; Javier, however, is convinced that Jon knows he committed the robbery and wants blackmail money, not just a loan. Supporting actress Cayetana Guillen Cuervo is best-known to American audiences for her role in The Grandfather, which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film. ~ Mark Deming, 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