Fernando Valverde Movies
Antonio Cuadri's La Gran Vida tells the story of a suicidal man who, after falling in love, decides not to end it all. Now he must survive the gangsters he owes money. If only he hadn't borrowed the money to give himself a memorable going-away trip. Salma Hayek co-stars in this film. La Gran Vida, originally released in Spanish, is presented here with a soundtrack dubbed into English. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Salma Hayek, Carmelo Gómez, (more)
- 1995
This lively western from Spain centers on the exploits of a wealthy young troublemaker who escapes from a Franciscan monastery and teams up with a handsome country boy who has run away from the Army. Together the two try to become outlaws and pose as gang members under the notorious El Argentino, an outlaw who plies his trade upon the border of Portugal and Galicia in northern Spain. The two "bandidos" steal horses and rob a taxman as they flee for the border. Along the way another fellow joins them. Much to their surprise, the fellow turns out to be a female reporter for the New York Times, hoping to interview El Argentino. Unfortunately, the outlaws have never met him. They meet him soon enough when he captures them. Proving to be a vain but basically good-hearted outlaw, he spares them and together they all take off with the Civil Guard hot on their trail. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Amor Porpio tells the tale of a woman whose life turns upside-down after her banker husbands disappears with a large sum of money from his company. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Antonio (Santiago Alonso) has been puzzled by a number of events which happened over a short period of time during a summer vacation outside of Madrid a decade earlier. They all concerned the family and household of a man he only knew as "the Nazi." With some persistence in pestering his family, a lot of memory work (seen as flashbacks in the film) and some plain old footwork, he pieces together the events of that time and finally comes to understand what really happened. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Omero Antonutti, Joaquim de Almeida, (more)
Ana (Carmen Maura) is a veterinarian living in the country with her daughter. She has a comfortable, settled life. From time to time, Dario (Fernando Valverde), one of her co-workers, stops by her farmhouse for a meal, but otherwise her life seems placid and timeless. This all changes when she meets Jose (Joaquim de Almeida), a handsome young man who becomes her lover. Not until she is thoroughly involved with him does she discover that he is an ex-convict and an arms smuggler. Inevitably, she is drawn into some shady business. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carmen Maura, Joaquim de Almeida, (more)
- 1993
Ambiguous symbolism and minimalist storytelling imbue this pantomime-like film with some fine imagery. In the story, a medieval family group has traveled for quite some time when they arrive at a hut on the shores of a mysterious lake. Their arrival is accompanied with omens such as a swarm of drowning rats. They are attempting to protect the woman of the family from being ravished by the local feudal lord. Nothing is explained, and there is little dialog. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexander Kaidanovsky, Valentina Vargas, (more)
- 1991
The first half of this ponderous drama shows a six-year-old girl whose life is overshadowed by the impending birth of a baby boy, of whom she is intensely jealous. Some months after he is born, undetected, she quietly smothers him to death. In the second half, she is nineteen and wants to leave the bosom of her family but is financially unable to do so. In the final moments of the film, a melodramatic turn of events fuels a reconciliation between the disaffected young woman and her mother. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Silvia Munt, Fernando Valverde, (more)
- 1988
After the death of Carlos II in 1700, the throne of Spain was up for grabs, and all the European powers got involved. Even after the next king was crowned, anarchy and poverty marred the lives of the Spanish for many years. Finally, Carlos III, attempted to bring significant reforms with the assistance of his minister, the Marques de Esquilache. This film, based on the play Un Sonador Para Un Pueblo by Antonio Buero Vallejo, portrays the struggles of Esquilache (Fernando Fernan Gomez) to implement his monarch's vision for Spain. Despite touching on many issues in Spanish history, it's really more of a character study of the title character. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ángela Molina
- 1987
In this idiomatically Spanish comedy, set in the woodlands of Galicia in the 1920s, a large cast of oddballs and fools somehow manage to carry on with their lives (and deaths). One of these odd ducks is a bandit who cannot quite manage to pull off a robbery, though the travelers he meets are quite obliging. Another is a ghost who wishes he had traveled to America before dying. Even a funeral is a source of laughter, as two spinster sisters send the dead one off into the afterworld with countless messages and admonitions for their deceased relatives. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alfredo Landa, Fernando Valverde, (more)
