Alfredo Landa Movies

Miguel Hermoso's La Luz Prodigiosa (Marvelous Light) examines what might have happened if famed Spanish writer Federico Garcia Lorca had not been executed at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. In Grenada in 1936 Joaquin (Ivan Corvacho Cervantes) delivers a man he decides to call Galapago (Sergio Villanueva) to nuns after Galapago is shot. Fifty years later, Joaquin comes back to Grenada and is conned by Adela (Kiti Manver). Joaquin decides to find Galapago, who is now homeless. Joaquin and Adela soon suspect that Galapago may be Lorca, and each reacts to the situation differently. The music for Marvelous Light was written by the great Ennio Morricone. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

A man on the run from outlaws finds himself consoling a troubled priest in this broad comedy. Rufus (Javier Manrique) is deep in debt to a Cuban gangster named Ortega (Idefonso Tamayo), who has an uncertain temper and is tired of waiting to be repaid. Rufus decides that it's time to dip into his hidden reserve of money that he's hidden in a tree in the desert, so heads to Almeria to get it. However, when he arrives, Rufus discovers that his tree already has a visitor -- a depressed priest (Alfredo Landa) who is convinced that his wicked life has left him beyond redemption. The cleric is intent upon committing suicide by hanging himself from the tree, while Rufus has to persuade him that life is worth living at least long enough to get his money. El Arbol del Penitente was the first feature film from director Jose Maria Borell. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this idiomatically Spanish comedy, set in the woodlands of Galicia in the 1920s, a large cast of oddballs and fools somehow manage to carry on with their lives (and deaths). One of these odd ducks is a bandit who cannot quite manage to pull off a robbery, though the travelers he meets are quite obliging. Another is a ghost who wishes he had traveled to America before dying. Even a funeral is a source of laughter, as two spinster sisters send the dead one off into the afterworld with countless messages and admonitions for their deceased relatives. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Four protagonists carry the action in this adventure story about betrayal, the high seas, and illegal shipping. Patxi (Alfredo Landa) is a widowed sea captain who becomes friends with Esteban, a ship's machinist (Imanol Arias), and the two end up going to Africa where they get in trouble and land in jail. Patxi's daughter Begona (Virginia Mataix) is being romantically pursued by the corrupt owner of a shipping line who is trading in illegal arms (Carlos Lucena). Ignoring her erstwhile suitor, she flies off to get her father and Esteban out of their predicament. But tragedy has already struck: Patxi is dead, and Esteban and Begona go back home where they seek justice. Much of Bandera Negra was shot in the Basque area of Spain, and the film was sponsored by the Basque regional government. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This entertaining comedy is set in 1938 during the Spanish Civil War when a group of Republican soldiers sneak into a village in enemy territory to steal a bull with plans of butchering it to feed themselves. Fate and the bull itself, however, have other plans. One of the surreptitious bull-snatchers knows the village well -- he grew up there, but that advantage alone cannot guarantee their success, as it turns out. The group of five would-be thieves dress themselves in uniforms of the Nationalist troops in an attempt to dissimulate their true identity. But instead of a neat getaway with a bull in tow, they are caught up in the "correo" or running of the bull, they get involved in a religious procession, and in the end, watch as the bull breaks out of a flimsy ring in a bullfight and heads for the hills. Still hungry, the group of men now have to worry about getting back to their own battalion before they are found out. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Meant to reflect the harsh realities of segments of society in 1960s, Franco-era Spain, this slow-moving, drawn-out story is about a struggling, impoverished family who work on the estate of a wealthy aristocrat. Paco (Alfredo Landa) is the head of his small family who constantly tries to placate his irascible overlords and also teaches them how to hunt birds. His wife Régula (Terele Pávez) is as subservient as Paco. The family is rounded out by a mute, crippled daughter, a son away at military service, and Azarias (Francisco Rabal), an uncle whose mental stability is in question. These individuals are contrasted with Señor Iván (Juan Diego) who rules over them with a detached incomprehension that brands the family as not much different than the animals he hunts. The señor has no compunction about shooting Azarias's pet bird, or forcing Paco to continue with a bird hunt even though he has fallen and broken his leg. Given the insane behavior of the aristocratic Iván, the half-crazy Azarias might be the only one to get through to him on his own level. The 1984 Cannes Film Festival awarded Alfredo Landa and Francisco Rabal a shared "Best Actor" Award for their roles in this film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Paco (Alfredo Lando) is a middle-aged glass blower who has a lucrative after-hours business as a male stud in this unusual comedy drama. His wife Maria (Christine Pascal) is the supposedly barren woman who approves of her husband's sideline. Paco meets Pocapena (Patrick Dewaere) in a local bar and tells him that Paco is his hero. The young man offers his services for nothing, and Paco takes him up on his proposition. Paco soon has his first sexual failure, which quickly ruins his reputation and leads to the young man assuming the role as the coveted stud. Maria soon becomes pregnant, leading to more confusion in Paco's crumbling life. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide