Aitzpea Goenaga Movies

In this rather old-fashioned Spanish comedy, the first directorial effort of actor Ramon Barea, a band of misfit nuns become trapped between an ideological war between sisters slavishly devoted to the old ways and those wanting to enter the 20th century, and they attempt to escape their aging convent by digging an elaborate tunnel. The traditionalists are led by the vice-prioress, who has been charged for guarding the preserved corpse of the convent's founder, while the modernists rally around the progress-oriented, computer-savvy prioress. The would-be escapees include Sister Rufina, who really wants to be a priest, Sister Asun, who undergoes a hysterical pregnancy and childbirth; Sister Remedios, who believes her beloved statue of Christ to be alive, and the ditzy innocent Sistar Rosarito. Pecata Minuta aired in the "Open Zone" category of the 1998 San Sebastian Film Festival. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this crime drama, a jazz pianist working the summer at the exclusive Lady Bird Club in Portugal as an accompanist for legendary trumpet player (portrayed by Dizzy Gillespie!) has a passionate affair with an enigmatic, ultimately conniving woman, who turns out to be married to a brutal mobster who with his cohorts, smuggles guns in hopes of overthrowing Portugal's democratic government. A murder causes the woman's sudden departure. The pianist, by this time, is hopelessly in love with her and so journeys to Lisbon to find her. Once there, he ends up over his head and in mortal danger. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Basque country, in northern Spain and southern France, has been plagued for decades (if not longer) by the activities of a violent separatist group known (using initials from its Euskara-language name) as ETA. This drama, filmed largely in the language of the Basques (Euskara), concerns the complex relations between a former ETA member and his society. In particular, it focuses on a showdown between the man who has now become a drug-runner, and his former best friend, who in addition to being involved in anti-government terrorism, actively fights the drug trade. The activity of the police is consistently shown as either sinister or irrelevant, while the ETA is shown in perhaps the best light it can be. A great deal of talk, political and otherwise, fleshes out this slim story. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi