Julian Villagran Movies
- 2007
A drunken Madrid transient plans to sabotage his brother's wedding, only to have second thoughts after striking up an unusual friendship with the bride-to-be's borderline autistic child. Benito lives on the streets of Madrid, never staying in one place for longer than it takes to find another bottle and be on his way. Obliged to return to his hometown of Estella at the behest of his benevolent brother Lalo, Benito is disturbed to discover that his sibling is engaged to a singe mother with a troubled history. At first Benito vows to torpedo the wedding plans by any means possible, but a remarkable friendship soon leads the meddling drunk to reconsider his stance on the marriage. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alberto San Juan, Emma Suarez, (more)
- 2006
A rare ailment literally takes a young man on a journey of the unexpected in this off-kilter comedy from Spanish filmmaker Santo Amodeo. Samuel (Juan Jose Ballesta) is a seemingly ordinary nineteen-year-old with an unusual problem. Samuel suffers from an uncommon brain disorder that causes him to have periodic spells where he goes into a trance, making it impossible for him to interact with people or things around him. While Samuel tries to live a normal life, his difficulties become apparent when he attends a funeral and bumps into his cousin Eduardo (Julian Villagran) for the first time in years. Eduardo invites Samuel to spend a few days with him and he agrees; that night, they go out to a club, but after a few hours of partying, Samuel feels an attack coming on and needs to take a nap. Samuel heads outside and crawls into the back of a van; the next morning, he wakes up to find the driver of the van took an overnight trip, and he’s now in Madrid, hundreds of miles away from Eduardo’s place. Samuel now had to find the owner of the van and persuade them to take him back home; as he scours Madrid, he encounters a handful of local eccentrics, including seductive Rosa (Ana Wagener), scatterbrained Consuelo (Adriana Ugarte) and Angelito (Manuel Alexandre), an elderly gentleman living with Alzheimer’s. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juan José Ballesta, Adriana Ugarte, (more)
The plight of marginalized youth who inhabits a small town in southern Spain is explored in the sophomore effort from El Traje director Alberto Rodríguez. Granted a weekend furlough from the juvenile detention center for the express purpose of attending his older brother Santacana's (Vicente Romero) wedding, aimless 16-year-old Tano (Juan José Ballesta) plans to join his best friend, Richi (Jesús Carroza), in a marathon session of boozing, getting stoned, and bedding every available female in sight. Though Tano still has the familiar urge to party hardy with his friends, gone in him are the thuggish instincts that drive his mates to rape, rob, and beat up anyone and everyone who stands in his way. As the events of the weekend unfold to reveal a town tiring of being victimized by the aggressive crowd that Tano used to run with, the revelation of where his life of crime is truly leading him forces Tano to reevaluate his violent past and take control of his future. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juan José Ballesta, Jesús Carroza, (more)
- 2004
The recipient of the Grand Prize of European Fantasy Film at the 2005 Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film, director David Carreras' horror-flavored thriller tells the tale of a newly hired nurse working in a isolated mental hospital, and the darkness that emerges when her patients start whispering of strange happenings in the institution's winding corridors. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cristina Brondo, Demián Bichir, (more)
- 2002
When a small-town family living in a proletarian district of Spain experiences a devastating loss, their eldest son must take over the responsibilities of their recently deceased father. More than a little unenthusiastic about the process, Carlos merely puts on a business suit and pretends to go to work. When it comes time to put food on the table, however, he must resort to a more drastic way of attaining a paycheck. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julian Villagran, Victoria Mora, (more)
