Emma Penella Movies
- 1986
El Amor Brujo is a filmed record of the little-known Spanish ballet by Manuel de Falla. The plot involves two gypsies, male and female, who are united in an arranged marriage. Each loves someone else, a circumstance that results in a fatal knife duel. The climax of the ballet involves the girl's torn loyalties between the ghost of her dead husband and her living lover. Antonio Gades, Cristina Hoyos, Laura del Sol and Juan Antonio Jimenez are the principal dancers in this well-photographed oddity. El Amor Brujo was the third in director Carlos Saura's flamenco trilogy, preceded by his far more successful Blood Wedding (1981) and Carmen (1983). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Antonio Gades
- 1984
Fernando Rey plays a Spanish cardinal who returns to his home town thirty years after leaving for Rome. Rey knew that he'd left an illegitimate daughter behind, but was unaware that he also has a granddaughter (Victoria Abril). The girl is embroiled in an affair with Rey's own brother (Francisco Rabal), a Marxist activist. The filmmakers' sympathies are more with Marxism than Catholicism, but politics are secondary to the kinky romantic intrigues. Evidently Fernando Rey didn't consider Our Father (original Spanish title: Padre Nuestro) significant enough to list on his official, published resume. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Fernando Rey, Francisco Rabal, (more)
- 1974
This dark drama, based on a classic Spanish novel, chronicles the troubled life of an unhappily married woman living in a village of indifferent or prejudiced neighbors. The poor woman suffers even more when the town Casanova begins to pursue her as does the local representative for the Spanish Inquisition. AKA La Regenta. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Emma Penella, Keith Baxter, (more)
- 1965
The business of death provides the framework for this black comedy about a mortician's assistant who wants to marry an executioner's daughter. Her father really wants to change professions, but cannot, as he will lose his new government-sponsored apartment. The young man is persuaded to take over the job, but he swears he will quit before he must kill someone. Unfortunately, an execution is scheduled shortly before the beginning of a major carnival, a time when many executions are halted. The bride and groom travel there, hoping the victim will be pardoned, but he is not and the groom must fulfill his duty. Although he swears he will never do another, his face tells another story, and the old executioner knows that many more state-sanctioned deaths will follow. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nino Manfredi, Emma Penella, (more)
- 1961
Set in a small coastal fishing village, this low-budget, undistinguished melodrama penned by no fewer than six writers is about the misfortunes of a young woman. After her father takes her into the village, the poor woman is raped by the local lothario, yet her victimization does not end there. Low catches drive her fisherman father farther down the poverty scale, and later on he is killed. The final injustice is that the woman becomes pregnant and eventually gives birth to a child that is the result of her rape. This makes the rapist change his feelings towards her. As might be expected, the six writers are all men. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- José Suárez, Carla Gravina, (more)
- 1959
A classic situation is created in this crime mystery by Jose Maria Forque when a police inspector (Luis Prendes) and his assistant (Jose Lopez-Vasquez) rush to the scene of an attempted murder. What makes the scene all the more interesting is that it is a popular nightclub, and the intended victim is the club hostess. Once all the revelers and club workers are locked in so that the inspector can interrogate everyone and get at the truth, a series of disparate characters is paraded across the screen. One by one, each tells his or her version of what was going on when, as the suspense remains at a continually-present but not quite heart-stopping level. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Emma Penella, Luis Prendes, (more)
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