Chete Lera Movies
- 2007
Inspired by a series of brutal, true life murders that shocked citizens of Buenos Aires at the turn of the 20th Century, director/screenwriter Jorge Algora's horrific thriller centers on a ten year old boy suspected of being a sadistic killer. The year is 1912, and the town of Buenos Aires is being held in the icy cold grip of fear. Ten year-old Mateo (Juan Ciancio) has been experiencing a disturbing series of extremely vivid visions that would seem to suggest that he witnessed the killings firsthand. When word gets out about Mateo's strange case of second sight, many of the locals begin to suspect that it is actually he who is committing these unspeakable acts. Meanwhile, as the body count continues to rise, Mateo's mother Estela (Maribel Verdú) enlists the aid of forensics specialist Dr. Soria (Chete Lera) in finding a rational explanation for the visions and helping the skeptical Police Inspector Petrie (Daniel Freire) locate the real killer in hopes of proving her son's innocence. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maribel Verdú, Daniel Freire, (more)
- 2007
A cynical former literature teacher falls for a pretty student who comes looking to him for advice in director Marcos Carnevale's tear-drenched drama. Pedro (Chete Lara) is an obnoxious, overbearing curmudgeon who lives his son Fidel (Raul Arevalo) but never has a kind word for the boy. While Pedro's best friend Gloria (Betiana Blum) tolerates her tempestuous pal's outbursts, their playful relationship takes a serious turn after Gloria is diagnosed with cancer. Meanwhile, left wing professor Pedro attempts to reconcile his feelings for pretty student Elena (Veronica Echegui), whose presence as of late has stirred long dormant romantic notions in the old man. Their lives will soon intersect with those of Argentinean orphan Santiago (Facundo Arana) and Amparo (Montse German), an eager mother to be. When Santiago's parents were killed in a car accident years ago, Gloria was kind enough to raise the boy as her own. Now, Amparo longs to adopt a child, and Santiago is willing to marry her if it means making her dream of motherhood come true. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chete Lera, Montse German, (more)
- 2006
When a poorly paid departmental assistant and economics teacher wins a general knowledge contest that pays the biggest prize ever offered in the history of television, he finds himself reconsidering the views he previously imposed on his students and fellow faculty members in director Rodrigo Cortés' dark comedy. Martín Circo Martín (Leonardo Sbaraglia) has just won three million Euros on a television quiz show, but as always there's a catch: Martín's sizable cash prize will be received as "payment in kind." Of course it doesn't take Martín long to realize that he can't really afford to enjoy his winnings, and that being wealthy can cost a pretty penny. Later, as economic illusions, unsavory banking schemes, a parasitic sycophants begin to take their toll on the increasingly cynical Martín, the winner gradually finds himself assuming the role of economic dissident. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leonardo Sbaraglia, Chete Lera, (more)
Hector Carre's psychological thriller The Promise concerns a woman who liberates herself from a destructive marriage and becomes nanny to a boy. The boy's family lives in an ornate mansion, but the nanny becomes convinced that the house is haunted, and she goes to frightening lengths to protect the boy. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carmen Maura, Ana Fernandez, (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)
Directed by Patri Ferreira, Alquimista Impaciente ("The Impatient Alchemist") follows the efforts of two men and their investigation of a mysterious death. When Vila (Roberto Enriquez), a disillusioned pyschologist-turned-cop, accompanied by his partner Chamorro (Ingrid Rubio), find a bound-and-gagged body of a nuclear plant worker in a motel room, the pair head off to interview the plant worker and the victim's wife. Though the case is closed fairly quickly, the body of a woman who had been partially devoured by wolves is found and believed to be connected to a mob boss named Vasili (Nacho Vidal). The first case is re-opened when the detectives discover that the employers of the victims were two dubiously run companies vying for dominance. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ingrid Rubio, Roberto Enríquez, (more)
A popular writer looking for a peaceful environment in which to finish his latest novel gets an unexpected surprise upon arriving at the remote summer home he once shared with his ex-wife in this romantic drama starring Jorge Bosch and Fanny Gautier. All the writer wanted was a place to work in peace, but his plans are suddenly thrown into chaos when he arrives at the cottage only to discover that it has been sold without his approval. Never one to let such technicalities cause distraction when there's work to be done, the determined writer nevertheless gains entry into the abode and sets about completing his masterwork. When the daughter of the house's new owner arrives unexpectedly, a healthy dose of chaos is quickly followed by an unexpected romance. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jorge Bosch
Heated office politics boil quickly to the surface as a tobacco-loving employee make a desperate plea for a smoking room in this observant comedy from writer/directors Julio Wallovits and Roger Gual. Working his days away in a Spanish branch of a large U.S.-based company, salary-man Ramirez (Eduard Fernandez) is enraged when a no-smoking ordinance goes into effect, leaving him no place to light up while on the clock. Though his bid for nicotine bliss initially divides employees' loyalties based solely on the subject at hand, petty grievances soon erupt into all-out war concerning twisted office politics. With employees going back on their initial support for the smoking room and paranoia soon giving way to shifting loyalties, it seems that everyone has their own agenda when it comes the how the company is being run. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Antonio Dechent, Juan Diego, (more)
- 2000
Romance and murder walk side by side in this psychological drama from Spain. A serial killer has been plying his grisly trade in a small town in Spain, murdering young girls and leaving their bodies in a nearby forest. A police inspector (Miguel Angel Sola) is sent in to investigate -- his first case outside tumultuous Basque County in 14 years. The detective has problems dealing with the stress of his job, and he finds little consolation in his off hours: he's been fighting a drinking problem for some time, and his wife (Charo Lopez) is in a mental hospital after murder threats against him led her to a nervous breakdown. As the inspector looks at the evidence in the latest killing with the help of Ferreras (Chete Lera), the city's coroner, he pays a visit to the school where the victim was studying. There he meets Susana Grey (Adriana Ozores), a teacher and single mother whose husband left her several years earlier to run off with Ferreras' former girlfriend. The inspector and Susana display an immediate interest in each other, and soon find themselves edging into a tentative romance, while the detective tries to stay on the trail of the murderer. Plenilunio was screened in competition at the 2000 San Sebastian Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Miguel Ángel Solá, Adriana Ozores, (more)
- 2000
Based on an idea by noted Spanish filmmaker Ricardo Franco, this gritty rural drama is directed by Daniel Cebrian. Failed singer Luz (Pilar Punzano) reluctantly returns to her hometown after being raped by record company honcho Fredy Barleta (Jose Coronado). Of course, home is not much better for the lass -- her ex-cop father is so profoundly depressed that he does not speak, and her jealous childhood boyfriend is still angry with her for leaving. Meanwhile, Luz's best friend Cascabel (Irene Visedo) longs to flee her psychotically possessive father Tadeo -- who makes her wear a bell so that he can locate her. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Antonio Dechent
Based on a true story, Flores de Otro Mundo is a film about rural life in present-day Spain. A little village with no women and no future organizes a big bachelors' party to which all the single women of the neighborhood are invited. Patricia from the Dominican Republic who has no ID, Milady from Havana who is dying to travel all around the world and Basque Mariroso find themselves on the 'bus of hope' chartered by the village. What follows is a story of social integration and male/female relationships. Director Iciar Bollain is well-known for her career as a leading actress in over 15 films, particularly Victor Erice's El Sur, Manuel Gutierrez Aragon's Malaventura, and Ken Loach's Land and Freedom. Her first film, Hola, Estas sola? (1995), won several international awards. The film was screened in the International Critics' Week of the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lissete Mejia, Luis Tosar, (more)
- 1999
Raul Veiga directs this Spanish psychological thriller about a double suicide. After a couple is found shot to death, old flames of the deceased Modia (Rosana Pastor) and Luis (Sergi Lopez) comb through their personal belongings and soon enter into their own romance. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosana Pastor, Sergi López, (more)
Following his award-winning Familia (1997), 30-year-old writer-director Fernando Leon de Aranoa set this Spanish drama in Madrid's grim working-class fringe neighborhood. Caught in the concrete jungle, 15-year-old friends Rai (Crispulo Cabezas), Manu (Eloi Yebra), and Javi (Timy) pass the summer dreaming of girls and sandy beaches. Javi is surprised by the sexual interest of his pals in his sister Susi (Marieta Orozco). Minus a vehicle, Manu struggles to keep his pizza delivery job. Entering a contest for an exotic vacation, Rai instead wins a jet ski -- which is stolen before he manages to profit by selling it. Manu and his father (Francisco Algora) lie about Manu's absent junkie brother, while Javi's mother (Alicia Sanchez) gets a court restraint to deal with Javi's violent father (Enrique Villen). The film features a soundtrack of Spanish rap and rock. At the 1998 San Sebastian Film Festival, Leon de Aranoa received a "Best Director" award plus two other awards for screenwriting. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cruspulo Cabezas, Timy, (more)
- 1998
Brothers Berto (Nancho Novo) and Mario (Enrique Alcides) grew up on Spain's Galician coast where their hippie parents settled during the '60s. Before they were grown, their father abandoned them, a trauma from which Mario has not completely recovered. Berto leaves home first, and many years pass before the brothers meet again. This sophomore feature from Galician director Xavier Villaverde recounts the brothers' reunion and search for their missing father. By the time they meet again, both siblings have accumulated troubled pasts. Mario has just finished jail time for protesting military service, while Berto has been involved in various criminal activities. Berto shows up to meet Mario with his latest lover, a very young Laura (Elena Anaya). It is not long before Mario joins them in a threesome. Later, Berto tells him that he has spent three years with their father (Cheto Lara); he then coerces Mario and Laura into accompanying him to Lisbon, Portugal where he claims their father now resides. This may or may not be a ruse to help Berto flee the country. As their journey progresses, painful truths about their pasts and childhood manifest themselves. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nancho Novo, Elena Anaya, (more)
The line between dreams and reality become increasingly blurred after a womanizing playboy is nearly killed by a jilted lover in Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar's masterful sophomore effort Abre Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes). It would seem as if Cesar (Eduardo Noriega) has it all. Handsome, charming, and with money to burn, he can get any girl he wants, and usually does so on a nightly basis. Following a birthday party in which he chats up Sofia (Penelope Cruz), the date of his best friend Pelayo (Fele Martinez), Cesar is plunged headfirst into a nightmare world when jealous former lover Nuria (Najwa Nimri) swallows a handful of pills and sends her car careening into a cement wall with the terrified playboy as her hapless passenger. With his formerly strikingly handsome face now twisted into a hideous mass of scarred flesh, Cesar's ugly emotions are now externalized for all to see. Pining for a plastic-surgery miracle to return him to his former glory so that he can seek out Sofia and take a chance at real love, he is pleasantly surprised when the doctors make a breakthrough and Sofia accepts him back into her life. Although all seems perfect for the moment, the formerly soulless player finds that this is only the beginning of his increasingly disturbing journey. Why is Sofia changing appearance and turning into Nuria periodically? And why won't the police and his psychiatrist believe Cesar's desperate attempts to rationalize a world that is growing increasingly surreal? Could it have something to do with a doctor Cesar has seen on television who keeps appearing and attempting to help him out of his nightmare? Peeling away at the layers of his subconscious, Cesar begins to realize that reality is no more than a state of mind, and that in order to get his life back he may be forced to take unthinkable measures. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eduardo Noriega, Penélope Cruz, (more)
- 1996
In this Spanish language film, we are taken to the touching 55th birthday celebration of paterfamilias Santiago (Juan L. Galliardo). Among those attending are his wife Carmen (Amparo Munoz), his brother Ventura (Chete Lera) and Ventura's wife Sole (Agata Lys), and his children. As the film develops, we discover that all these people are actors whom Santiago has hired to ease him over the loneliness of this moment in his life. The imposture is particularly evident when Santiago is quizzing some of the actors to make sure they remember their parts properly. Things become tense when someone who knows Santiago slightly and is unaware of the day's impostures comes by and compliments him on the normality of his family life. There is yet more tension when Santiago beds Carmen, who is in reality Ventura's wife. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
