Nuria Espert Movies

One of the late 19th and early 20th century composer Giacomo Puccini's operatic masterworks, Tosca receives a new interpretation in this stage production mounted by Nuria Espert and filmed at the Teatro Real in January 2004 on high-definition video. The now age-old story, by Victorien Sardu, unfolds around 1800 in Rome. The premise involves a series of political intrigues that spring up when Floria Tosca falls in love with Mario Cavaradossi, a painter who has illegally assisted her brother Cesare Angelotti in escaping from the malevolent police chief Scarpia. Hot on the trail of Angelotti,Scarpia arrests Cavaradossi and refuses to release him unless Tosca accedes to his amorous demands; a number of betrayals and homicides follow. In this production, acclaimed soprano Daniela Dessi interprets the role of Tosca, with Fabio Armiliato as Cavaradossi, Ruggero Raimondi as Scarpia, and Marco Spotti as Angelotti. The Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Real, Madrid provide musical accompaniment. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Videotaped live at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, England, this production of Bizet's classic opera plays strongly on the Spanish themes and heritage of the story, and it employs a wealth of Spanish talent, including director Nuria Espert, production designer Gerardo Vera, and choreographer Cristina Hoyos. Maria Ewing stars as the beautiful but dangerous temptress Carmen, while Luis Lima portrays Dan Jose, the man she leads astray. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The private eye hired by a jealous husband comes to the rescue of the wife in this Spanish/Portuguese thriller/melodrama. The wife is married to a wealthy but often-absent business tycoon and has grown bored with her lot. She seeks affection and entertainment from an international playboy. When the husband grows suspicious, he hires a private eye to find out what is up. The detective reports her entanglement to the husband, who promptly goes to the playboy's yacht, slits his throat, and imprisons his wife in his country mansion. Eventually, the husband's psychotic machinations become evident to the private eye and he frees the wife before it is too late. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This is an extremely violent, gory, and surreal meditation on the life of a young lad during the time of the Spanish Civil War, as he attempts to find out what happened to his father, who has disappeared. It turns out that his mother, devout in her loyalty to the Falange, has turned him in as a leftist. Multiple scenes involve castration and the consumption of testicles, in one case by a victimized priest. The grotesquery includes a fantasy scene of a city swamped in the boy's urine, the mother having a bowel movement over the head of his father, and a deeply Oedipal scene with the boy, a bull and his mother. Not for the faint of heart, this film achieved cult status in New York City shortly after its release. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide