Roberto Alvarez Movies

Director Joaquin Oristrell's earthy, passionate drama Mediterranean Food opens on June 6, 1968, the day of Robert F. Kennedy's assassination. That same day, a little girl christened Sofia is born prematurely in an Italian barbershop, and grows up into an idiosyncratic, impulsive, yet intelligent and diligent young woman (Sofia Molina), raised in the kitchen and dining room of her parents' celebrated restaurant. As she reaches the age of 15, Sofia falls in love with two men simultaneously and finds herself torn between their embraces. She marries one, Toni (Paco Leon) - seemingly the perfect husband and father, who provides anything a young woman could want (including two children) - and she takes the second suitor, Frank (Alfonso Bassave), as an extramarital lover. A young man employed as an agent, Frank takes Sofia not only into his bed but under his wing, teaching her the ins and outs of preparing five-star European haute cuisine. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Pedro Almodóvar follows his international success All About My Mother with an offbeat drama that explores the friendship of two men brought together under unusual but strangely similar circumstances. Benigno (Javier Camára) is a male nurse whose apartment overlooks a dance studio run by Katerina (Geraldine Chaplin); he often sits on his balcony and watches one of Katerina's students, Alicia (Leonor Watling), and he finds himself becoming infatuated with her. When Alicia is severely injured in an auto accident that leaves her in a coma, Benigno discovers she has been admitted to the hospital where he works, and he spends his days caring for a woman he now deeply loves but has barely met. Marco (Darío Grandinetti) is a journalist who was assigned to interview Lydia (Rosario Flores), a well-known female bullfighter whose on-the-rocks romance with another toreador, "El Niño de Valencia" (Adolfo Fernández), has made her the focus of the tabloid press. During Marco's interview with Lydia, he goes out of his way to treat her kindly, and she appears to return his attention. During the bullfight which follows, Lydia is gored by the bull, and is now in a coma; Marco is certain his interview broke her steely concentration, and he spends most of his days at the hospital, convinced her injuries are his fault. Alicia and Lydia are both housed in the same ward of the same hospital, and in time Benigno and Marco become close friends, bonding in their shared devotion to women who cannot return their affection. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this downbeat drama, Lena (Marta Larralde) is an 18-year-old who has grown up in a seaside town on the northeast coast of Spain; while fishing was once the backbone of the local economy, the bay no longer produces a good catch, and now the community is largely supported by trade in illegal drugs. Gorrion (Manuel Manquina), Lena's father, works as a runner for a small-time drug cartel, which includes Gypsy (Luis Toser), Gorrion's close friend and Lena's godfather; Milio (Roberto Alvarez), a strong but tight-lipped young man; and Portuguese immigrant Cachero (Vitor Norte). Gorrion has a serious drinking problem and is not considered especially reliable by either Lena or his partners in crime; he is beaten when the crew suspects he's skimming money from the take, and while Lena had a good change of gaining a college scholarship, Gorrion botched it when he failed to submit the proper forms to the financial aid office. Resigned to paying off her father's debt to the mob, Lena offers to work for the local smugglers, and she soon becomes friendly with Milio, who displays the strength and cunning her father lacks. Eventually, Lena throws in her lot with Milio, and they decide to hop a ship to Portugal. Lena was the first feature film for director Gonzalo Tapia, and it also marked the professional acting debut of leading lady Marta Larralde. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This lavish historical drama was inspired by the true story of Juana the Mad, who became Queen of Spain before her willfulness and jealousy robbed her of her power. During the late 15th century, Juana (Pilar Lopez de Ayala) was born to the Spanish royal family, and as a teenager her mother, Queen Isabella (Susy Sanchez), arranged for her to marry Archduke Philip (Daniele Liotti) of Brussels. The marriage is a matter of politics more than anything else, and Juana is upset that she must leave behind Alvaro de Estuniga (Eloy Azorin), the boy she loves, but from the first time she sees Felipe, she's passionately attracted to him, and he soon awakens her to the joys of lovemaking. While Juana is happy with her new husband, Philip soon reveals himself to be an incorrigible womanizer (and rapidly loses sexual interest in her), leading to much tension between
Philip and Juana. To complicate matters further, her sexual appetite and desire to possess her husband only build, and soon, she is completely out of control on an emotional level - throwing tantrums in the rain, lapsing into arousal while she breast feeds and evincing a spectrum of equally questionable behavior that leads others (including Philip) to dub her "Juana the Mad."In time, Juana becomes the Queen of Spain, but her rise to power is tempered by Felipe' s behind-the-scenes machinations to have her dethroned once and for all. Lo and behold, she falls into the trap of missing this - as she's too distracted by Philip's continued infidelity. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A former football star finds himself weighing difficult options in this period drama from Spain. Ramiro Forteza (Carmelo Gomez) was once the goalie for a championship soccer team in Madrid, but as Spain struggles to get back on its feet following the Civil War, he's reduced to traveling the countryside, hustling money from strangers who think they can get a penalty kick past him. Ramiro finds himself in a small Asturian town, where he becomes infatuated with Manuella (Maribel Verdu), a single mother who watches over her young son Tito (Adrian Ramirez) and her brother Nardo (Eduard Fernandez), who is still nursing wounds he suffered as a soldier with the Resistance. Manuella also has to contend with Lopez (Julio Velez), a member of the Civil Guard who makes no secret of his sexual interest. Ramiro decides he'd like to stick around for a while, so he takes a job doing chores for Don Constantino (Roberto Alvarez), a rough-hewn but good-natured Catholic priest; soon, though, Ramiro gets a troubling offer from Sgt. Andrade (Antonio Resines), leader of the local branch of the Civil Guard. Andrade would like Ramiro to represent the Civil Guard in a local penalty kick competition, and while he's in no position to refuse, he's also not sure he wants to accept. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A boy goes on a vacation with his father and ends up taking the ride of his life in the comedy Manolito Gafotas. Manolito (David Sanchez del Rey) is a cheerful but accident-prone child who doesn't see his father very often. Dad is a truck driver usually out on a long haul, leaving Manolito at home with his mother (Adriana Ozores), grandfather (Antonio Gamero), and little brother. Hoping to make up for the time they spend apart, Dad offers to take Manolito along on his next trip and show him the ocean. Manolito eagerly agrees, but gets his father in trouble when he mentions to Mom via telephone that Dad was chatting up a waitress at a roadside diner. After their meal, Manolito hops on board a truck and heads out down the road -- but he doesn't realize he's in the wrong truck until it's too late. Manolito Gafotas was adapted from a comic strip popular in Spain. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This comedy, set in Madrid, follows single nursery school teacher Esperanza (Loles Leon) on her quest for a man. She shares her problems with her gay friend Ramon (Andrea Occhipinti), a divorce lawyer, who devises a few matchmaking notions -- while Esperanza, at the same time, tries to get physical-education instructor Roberto (Armando del Rio) to take an interest in Ramon. But Esperanza continues to find heterosexual men in short supply. Shown at the 1997 San Sebastian Film Festival, the English title is Manly Love. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Benton (Eriq La Salle) gives British surgeon Corday (Alex Kingston) a crash course in American ER procedures and later helps Carla (Lisa Nicole Carson) choose a name for their baby. Carter (Noah Wyle) and Del Amico (Maria Bello) are assigned to train two new med students, with Carter drawing the "short straw." Greene (Anthony Edwards) is handed a subpoena in the wrongful-death suit filed by the Law family. And Weaver's (Laura Innes) authority -- and imperiousness -- increases while Morganstern (William H. Macy) recovers from his heart attack. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi