Nancho Novo Movies

Director/screenwriter Tristan Ulloa teams with co-director David Ulloa to adapt author Santiago Roncaglielo Alfaguare's novel about the tenderness of family relationships. Stuck in the throes of a mid-life crisis, middle-aged wife and mother Julia suddenly finds her woes compounded when her own mother dies and her marriage begins to fall apart. It seems that the troubles between Julia and her husband Juan are having a detrimental effect on the rest of the family as well. Their youngest child Sergio may have been adopted, yet the further that Julia and Juan drift apart the further Sergio drifts into a fantasy world of make believe. Sergio's older sister Marisa detests her younger brother almost as much as she detests her own body, and as puberty finally kicks in the young girl does her best to adapt to her sexual orientation. Of course no adult wants to depend on their children for support, but this is exactly what has happened in the case of Grandpa Salvador. In the evenings, when the family gathers around the dinner table, the atmosphere grows, the atmosphere in the house grows increasingly dense with each passing day. Perhaps sometime soon one member of the family will summon the courage to address the issue. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Recalling Werner Herzog's Aguirre: The Wrath of God, acclaimed Chilean filmmaker Miguel Littin directs this sweeping epic about the true-life tale of Romanian engineer Julius Popper and his half-crazed pursuit of gold. Set in 1850, the handsome Romanian rides into a rough and tumble frontier town with his pockets full of gold. He uses his loot to round up dazzled prospectors and seduce hard-bitten brothel owner Armenia (Ornella Muti) into funding his expedition. The band sets off for the rugged South populated by half-naked indigenous people. Claiming the land for the Queen of Romania, Popper captures the Indians as slaves and forces them to mine for gold. They do find a scant amount of gold, which Popper promptly mints into coins bearing his likeness. Popper's second in command, a former Austrian sergeant named Novak (Nelson Villiagra), treats Indians with appalling savagery in the name of civilization, though he develops an odd respect for the tribe's beautiful, thoroughly-tattooed and frequently naked Queen Mennar (Tamara Acosta). As the rainy season sets in, the unpaid miners start to quietly talk of mutiny. Popper makes a bagpiper an example and forces him to play until he keels over. When this fails, Popper offers an ounce of gold for each Indian ear, breast, and testicle. This film was screened at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

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

Angel Fernandez Santos made his feature directorial debut with this low-budget Spanish thriller. Upper-middle-class married father Andres (Carlos Hipolito) takes the reins of the family business from his rich stepfather (Txema Blasco). Andres meets and sleeps with boutique clerk Isabel (Cayetana Guillen Cuervo), who is involved with drug dealer Paco (Nancho Novo). Isabel needs money to pay off past debts, and after Andres becomes obsessed with her, she concocts a plan to kidnap his son David (Jose Velazquez). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Dressed in blinding white, carrying a strange pack upon his back and a toxin-spewing wand, comes exterminating Angel and his similarly clad army to the scorched, crimson earth of Aragon wine country, to destroy the insects that give the wine it's unique flavor. There Angel fines himself falling in love with a homely cuckolded wife Angela who only stays with her cheating husband for her daughter's sake. He also falls for the town's teenage tramp, the white-hot black-leather wearing Mari, who falls in love with him after one passionate night. This off-beat Spanish romance, made with a dash of cosmic pretensions, chronicles his relationships with the two women while also dealing with his strange relationship to his alter ego who may or may not be, an angel. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Set amidst the gender-bending tumult of the Madrid nightclub scene, this black and twisted Spanish comedy features excerpts from the lives of a number of offbeat characters. First there is Max, a gigolo who has returned to Madrid to rekindle an affair with Yeye, the lover he betrayed. Max is a murder suspect and is pursued by a psychotic cop. Yeye's roommates are the nymphomaniacal Monica and lovesick Maria, who yearns for the love of her neighbor Carlos. Then there is Alberto, a gay fellow who finds innocent solace in the arms of the heterosexual David after learning that his latest lover Alex is married with children. The main character's lives converge at a series of parties and club hopping sprees all of which are presided over by a trio of lavishly made-up drag queens. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

An errant husband will do practically anything to win back his spouse in this screwball comedy from Spain. Jorge (Jorge Perugorria) is married to Laura (Ana Alvarez), and while they love each other, they have sharply divergent personalities and sometimes find themselves at odds with one another. Jorge finds his will to fidelity overcome after he meets the beautiful Estrella (Jessica Schultz), and when Laura finds out about their brief affair, she walks out on him. Soon realizing he's made a horrible mistake, Jorge sets out to win Laura back, though it proves to be more difficult than he thought. Dile a Laura que la Quiero was the first feature film for writer/director José Miguel Juárez. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Sara (Victoria Abril) and her co-star Bruno (Antonio Valero) are popular soap opera stars who try to take a quiet vacation in this screwball comedy. They escape to a remote mountain village but are recognized by the locals who faithfully watch the daily program. Plenty of sight gags and sexual situations occur along with the continual and unwanted appearances of the show's producer Tomas (Antonio Resines). ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide