Alvaro Alonso Movies
- 2012
A young woman is drawn into a strange confidence game after fate leaves her high and dry in this drama from filmmaker Alicia Scherson. Bianca (Manuela Martelli), who is in her late teens, and her younger brother Tomas (Luigi Ciardo), are devastated by the unexpected death of their parents, and are uncertain how they'll hold on to the apartment that has been their family home. Bianca takes a job with a hair stylist, and Tomas becomes a gofer at a fitness center. Neither job seems promising until Tomas strikes up a friendship with a pair of bodybuilders (Nicolas Vaporidis and Alessandro Giallocosta) who invite themselves into the family home. The bodybuilders are far better at looking after things than the siblings, and they also seduce Bianca while offering Tomas plenty of advice on the opposite sex. Before long, Bianca and Tomas discover the bodybuilders have an ulterior motive for being so helpful -- they've hatched a scheme to swindle a former movie star, Mr. Bruno (Rutger Hauer), who has gone blind and rarely leaves his mansion. The bodybuilders wants Bianca to sleep with Bruno in order to gain his trust and find out how to get their hands on his money, but after spending time with Bruno, she finds herself too intrigued by the damaged but charismatic actor to cheat him. Il Futuro (aka The Future) was an official selection at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 2010
A young man who has grown up on the streets wants to do right by his mother -- even as he lives outside the law -- in this stylish action drama from Spain. Ricky (Mario Casas) was only 12 years old when he was left to fend for himself after his mother Pura (Angela Molina) ended up in jail on prostitution charges. Even though she let him down, Ricky is still devoted to his mom as he pedals goods on the street to support himself and lives with a makeshift family that includes Angelito (Vicente Romero), a low-rent pimp; his half-bright sidekick The Kid (Luciano Caceres); Angelito's drug-addicted lover Scrag (Macarena Gomez); and Princess (Damaso Conde), an eccentric cross-dresser convinced she's descended from royalty. Eager to give his mother a better life, Ricky wants to open a brothel that she can run when she's released from prison, and with some help from Angelito and The Kid, he's nearly gotten the illegal business off the ground when he discovers Pura's growing senility would make it impossible for her to run the establishment. Even worse, local gangster El Chino (Dario Grandinetti) doesn't like Ricky giving him competition and demands a huge protection payment if the business is to stay open. Ricky doesn't have the sort of bankroll El Chino demands, so he and his partners make a desperate attempt to raise the cash by kidnapping Veronica (Blanca Suarez), whose father is a powerful but dishonest police detective (Antonio de la Torre). Carne de Néon (aka Neon Flesh) was written and directed by Paco Cabezas, who adapted the story from a short subject he made in 2005. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mario Casas, Ángela Molina, (more)
- 2009
A young man learns a valuable lesson from a man he never knew in this drama from filmmaker Eva Dahr. Jan (Harald Thompson Rosenstrom) is riding on a streetcar one day when he sees a young woman get on board, carrying a bag of oranges. Jan is immediately smitten with her beauty and her smile, and he tries to help her when he drops the bag and the oranges scatter across the floor. When the woman steps off, Jan tries to follow her, but he can't find her, and for the next few weeks he spends his time looking for the woman, while two decades later she still haunts his memories. Many years later, 16-year-old Georg (Mikkel Bratt Silset) is heading to Norway for a trip devoted to skiing and watching the stars. Shortly before he leaves, Georg is given a letter that was written by Jan, his father who died when he was a baby. Georg isn't so sure he cares about what this stranger has to say, but when he meets a pretty girl on the train, Jan's story of the young woman with the oranges takes on a new meaning. Appelsinpiken (aka The Orange Girl) received its United States premiere at the 2010 Cinequest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mikkel Bratt Silset, Hendrik Annel, (more)
- 2008
Three guys who've devoted their lives to doing nothing discover it's not as easy as it used to be in this independent comedy from Spain. Grabi (Ivan Massague), Nandi (Dario Paso) and Roberto Carlos (Juanfra Juarez) are three thirty-something layabouts who still live with their parents, avoid gainful employment and devote their days to drinking beer and sharing whatever thoughts they have with one another. Robert Carlos is engaged in a lackadaisical romance with shop manager Mercedes (Mercedes Hoyos) until he meets the prettier but moody Sunci (Pilar Crespo). Grabi has a sister (Ana Cuesta) who is dating a neighborhood bully named Kevin Manuel (Jesus Carroza); Garbi doesn't care for Kevin and tries to break up their relationship, only to incur Kevin's considerable wrath. And while Nandi's friends are busy with women and musclemen, he strikes up a friendship with a lonely kid who lives nearby, Isabel (Isabel Ampudia). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ivan Massague, Dario Paso, (more)
Neon Flesh director Paco Cabezas weaves this dark tale of family secrets concerning a brother and sister who make a sinister discovery during a trip back to Argentina to turn off their estranged father's life-support system. Realizing that neither seems able to recall any discernable details regarding their childhood, the siblings embark on a road trip to Tierra del Fuego in hopes of finding their childhood home. Once there, they discover a mysterious diary that opens the door to a horrifying parallel world. Now, before they can save themselves, the terrified siblings must first confront and correct their grim past. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ruth Diaz, Javier Pereira, (more)
- 2005
Eliseo Subiela's comedy Heartlift stars Pep Munne as an aging plastic surgeon who falls for a young female assistant (Moro Anghileri) while attending a medical conference. Soon he begins inventing new reasons to spend more time with her. His wife Cristina (Maria Barranco) begins meeting with a psychiatrist (Jean Pierre Noher) in order to figure out what is going on in her marriage. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Pepe Munné, Maria Barranco, (more)
Released back onto the streets after serving her time behind bars, a woman determined never to keep out of trouble crosses paths with a shady old friend who might just drag her under in this drama from first-time director Jesus Ponce. Isabel (Isabel Ampudia) had barely been out of the joint for a day when she went to the local hostel to rent a room and ran across her old pal Rufo (Sabastian Haro). Though Isabel knew that she would have to jettison her past in order to build any kind of sustainable future, the fact remains that she has no home to speak of so she reluctantly accepts Rufo's offer to become roommates. Rufo is an AIDS-afflicted junkie who earns a meager living by parking cars, but while he's a generous soul at heart he's still an unpredictable addict willing to do anything for his next fix. Upon moving in with Rufo, Isabel begins to connect with a number of her new neighbors in the barrio - including friendly shop assistant Manuela (Mercedes Hoyos). At first it seems as if Isabel may be mindful enough to live on the streets without succumbing to the dangers that such a life implies, but when Rufo nicks a handbag and kills his dealer any sense of low-rent stability quickly dissipates. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Isabel Ampudia, Sebastian Haro, (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, Rovi
- Starring:
- Julian Villagran, Victoria Mora, (more)
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