Agustin Gonzalez Movies

The title of this comedy refers to a section of Madrid known for its posh restaurants. When a German chef chops off his wife's head with a meat cleaver on the last night before the business closes for the season, the owner takes pity on the chef's only child and hides the high-school student in his home. The boy leaves with his pretty math tutor after impregnating his own godmother. The owner throws a lavish dance to end the season, as the chef appears throughout the film seemingly unmolested by the justice system. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This fictional treatment of an actual incident in Barcelona, Spain involves a man who brutalizes his family and those who work underneath him with no concern for anyone except himself. The story may not be far away from the truth for many families in many countries. Costa (Agustin Gonzalez) is a member of the former right-wing extremists Fuerza Nueva and has built a little empire for himself in the construction and real-estate business. He freely and frequently abuses his wife and four children, and in fact only one daughter is not terrified of him. Costa goes around with a bodyguard -- since even he is aware of the hatred he engenders -- but his ultimate mistake lies in assuming that the victims of his vicious temper may not be quite as weak as the spineless jellyfish he sees in them. The result of his excesses finally culminates in an irreversible act of violence that may -- or may not -- result in court action. Although a little flawed by technical problems with the sound and a somewhat disjointed, episodic telling of the tale, this drama is sure to keep viewers involved in the action.
~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In the ancient Phoenician city now known as Almería on the southeastern coast of Spain, three Civil Guards were convicted in 1981 of torturing and then murdering three men that were suspected Basque terrorists. This well-paced and suspenseful docudrama is about that case and how the courageous prosecutor -- insightfully interpreted by Agustín Gonzalez -- had to persevere in the face of death threats to himself and his family, had to brave the ominous power of the Civil Guards of Spain, and had to overcome the judges' reluctance to proceed with the case. The chilling presence of the Civil Guards at every turn in the court trial are like fascist remnants from the rule of Francisco Franco that ended only five years or so before these murders were committed. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Roberto Orbea (Jose M. Sacristan) is a Spanish socialist politician who used to be a lawyer. In the film, which is almost completely told in "flashbacks," he reminisces about his recent life. Despite many years of hiding his political beliefs, he is imprisoned and realizes while in prison that he is genuinely homosexual. All along, he has tried to put his sexuality aside, and he married a woman who shares his political beliefs. Even after his release at the end of the Franco era, he tries to avoid expressing his homosexuality, but eventually he and his wife set up a menage a trois with Juanito (Jose Luis Alonzo), a rough young adolescent who is probably a hustler. Featuring an appearance of the renowned director Juan Antonio Bardem, this film raised an outcry at the time of its first release for its explicit depiction of homosexual acts and for its outspokenly pro-Marxist political statements. The film also gained notoriety because it appears to tell the story of several well-known figures in Spanish society. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A group of nine middle-aged companions get off the train from Madrid to begin a bicycle tour of the Guadarrama Mountains -- the same bike tour they took together 24 years before. Only this time, instead of halcyon memories and pastel-shaded visions of natural beauty, the nine start to bicker among themselves, petty concerns take over the day, and in the end, none of the group seem to be either happy or accomplished in anything at all -- they cannot even make a biking excursion hang together. When they do manage to ramble on (verbally and bicycling), the substance seems to have been let out of the dialogue like air out of a tire -- leaving the conversation flat as a pancake. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

After their wealthy fascist father dies, Ana and her sister Laura have the job of settling his estate. The two sisters have not seen one another for some time and imagine they have nothing in common. Ana stayed at home and married a pretty ordinary middle-class man, Laura moved to Paris and lives a far more glamorous life. Complicating their difficult task is the fact that it is taking place during Holy Week, and all sorts of processions and ceremonies are taking place in the streets around them, and ordinary commercial life is at a standstill. The tension between the two women eases somewhat as they come to grips with their common past and, along with their father, bury some of the myths that have overshadowed both of them. The director of this film, Rafael Azcona, is known for his penchant for mocking conservative Spain's many sacred cows, and he continues that tradition in this occasionally comic drama. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide