Federico Luppi Movies

The apparent ease with which Argentina's political situation could degrade into extremists killing each other is illustrated in this interesting fictional allusion to historical reality. Suprino (Hector Bidonde), a local Peronist boss in the small town of Colonia Vela, schemes with the county mayor and a union leader to get the deputy mayor Fuentes (Federico Luppi) out of power - even though the Peronist is indebted to Fuentes. Fuentes is told that he has to fire his assistant because of the assistant's leftist sympathies - and he refuses. That evokes a harsh response from Suprino (the Peronist), who now has the police chief intervene for him. But Fuentes, rather than cave in to pressure, barricades his office, lines up men to stand by him, and gets ready for the first police assault. Leftist students then kidnap the police chief demanding that the attack on Fuentes stop - but their actions only serve to escalate the now raging conflict into a minor civil war. In the end, the film makes it clear that survival may be the only criterion determining who wins - which creates a village of losers, including the political process. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This politically charged black comedy from Argentina centers on a middle-aged married couple who desperately need a place to stay after the fall of the military government. They end up staying with a self-absorbed sculptor who basically locks them into a Spartan little room. At first the couple accepts the oppressive situation, but in time they rebel and suddenly the sculptor finds himself getting a dose of his own medicine. Unfortunately, the couple's anger gets the best of them and violence ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this low-budget but violent action-adventure, the DEA decides to send its top agent undercover as a drug-smuggling flier in South America. The assignment becomes personal after the kingpin behind the drug-ring murders the agent's partner. The agent's own life is jeopardized after he refuses to perform a hit for the drug lord. On video the film is titled Vice Wars. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This surreal variant on the classic vampire tale is the directorial debut of Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, who garnered international acclaim and several awards. The film tells the story of elderly antique dealer Jesus Gris (Federico Luppi, in a role originally written for Max Von Sydow) who, with his eight-year-old granddaughter Aurora (Tamara Shanath), discovers an ancient artifact secreted within a statue obtained from the estate of a 16th-century alchemist. Unbeknownst to Gris, the device -- which resembles an ornate, gilded mechanical beetle -- houses an immortal parasite which will grant eternal life to its host. Naturally, there is a terrible price for this gift, which Gris is doomed to discover after the object anchors itself to his body. He begins to develop an extreme aversion to daylight, as well as an agonizing thirst for human blood. To compound matters, dying millionaire Dieter de la Guardia (Claudio Brook) has learned of the device's existence -- thanks to an occult tome obtained from its inventor -- and wishes to obtain it for his own use. To this end he employs his vain, brutish nephew Angel (Ron Perlman) to retrieve it for him. Angel's techniques are less than subtle, and he inevitably winds up killing Gris in his futile search for the artifact... but death is not permanent for the host of the Cronos, and he rises from the mortuary slab to reunite with the long-suffering Aurora. Together they confront de la Guardia and his nephew one last time, hoping to find a way to reverse the horrible process before Gris suffers the same monstrous fate as the device's creator. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

A rivalry between two actors proves to have dangerous consequences in this drama from Spain. Daniel (Federico Luppi) is the star of a popular television series who is interested in more prestigious work. and longs to appear on the legitimate stage. Daniel is lobbying for the leading role in Divertimento, a well-known play that made a star of leading man Bernardo Gabler (Francisco Rabal). When Daniel pays a visit to the theater where the play is being staged, he discovers to his surprise that Bernardo is waiting for him. Bernardo is not at all eager to turn over his signature role to another actor and insists on putting Daniel through a punishing audition, which turns out to be the least of Daniel's problems when Bernardo forces him to help hide a corpse, implicating him in a murder Bernardo claims to have committed. Divertimento also features Sonia Castelo and Pastor Rodriguez Feal. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

After a lifetime of playing it safe, a married bank employee decides to ditch his previous life and embark on a career as a financial speculator and single man. At first his ex-wife has a difficult time of it, but she begins a business of her own which succeeds magnificently. The speculator's daughter has her own troubles, as she is being pursued by a man who appears to be simply an aging womanizer, though over time other facets of his character emerge. The self-liberated banker himself is having a high old time, enjoying risks (and a younger woman) in ways he couldn't have imagined before. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Three aimless, unemployed and penniless youths hatch a devious plot in order to escape their nowhere lives in this lively Spanish thriller that begins as Rober and Max rob a supermarket owned by their cohort Ona's parents. Their next target is Daniel Peligro, the biological father of Max. Peligro, a prominent, wealthy theater director, has never seen his own son, nor does he even acknowledge his existence. The trio are committing these crimes to quickly earn the cash Rober needs to start his dream restaurant. Fearing that Max will be too emotional seeing his celebrated father for the first time, the three decide that Rober should change the color of one of his eyes (Peligro has one blue and one brown eye) and masquerade as Max. It turns out that the director welcomes his estranged off-spring into his home and even offers him the lead in his latest play. Meanwhile Rober makes hay with Peligro's beautiful girl friend. Not wanting to leave such a luxurious new life, Rober lies to the patiently waiting Max and Ona, telling them he needs more time to plan the crime. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This film is carefully designed to please local fans of the beloved Argentine stand-up comedian, stage performer and magician Florencio Parravicini. His stage name was "Flop." Florencio's father was a prison director, and he was raised among prisoners from the age of seven. Moments from the performer's stage shows are interspersed with shots showing his backstage life, and flashbacks which illustrate his early life. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

At the same time the last of the free Plains tribes in North America were being herded onto reservations, the Argentinians were similarly engaged on the plains Patagonia. In this drama, set in 1880, a colonel in the Argentine army has come to this remote region with his aristocratic French wife in the hopes of making his fortune while opening this land to European exploitation. The harsh and greedy nature of the conquerers is clearly shown as they oppress everyone in sight, including their own people. One story involves the ultimately unsuccessful efforts of the colonel's wife to repatriate a French girl who has spent the past ten years among the Indians. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This lively western from Spain centers on the exploits of a wealthy young troublemaker who escapes from a Franciscan monastery and teams up with a handsome country boy who has run away from the Army. Together the two try to become outlaws and pose as gang members under the notorious El Argentino, an outlaw who plies his trade upon the border of Portugal and Galicia in northern Spain. The two "bandidos" steal horses and rob a taxman as they flee for the border. Along the way another fellow joins them. Much to their surprise, the fellow turns out to be a female reporter for the New York Times, hoping to interview El Argentino. Unfortunately, the outlaws have never met him. They meet him soon enough when he captures them. Proving to be a vain but basically good-hearted outlaw, he spares them and together they all take off with the Civil Guard hot on their trail. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this downbeat and drawn-out story of personal woe in exile, Martin (Federico Luppi) takes his daughter and leaves Uruguay to live in a specific city in northwestern Spain. Passing himself off as a basketball coach (a total scam -- he knows zip about the game), he manages to support the two of them and at the same time, he goes out looking for the woman he once loved. Meanwhile, his wife's divorce lawyer is requesting the daughter to come home and live with her mother, and when Martin finally hunts down his former lover, she has about as much interest in him as his estranged wife. The exiled Uruguayan is definitely between a rock and a hard place, as his circumstances deteriorate from there. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

When El Pollo ("the chicken") is captured by authorities for stealing, he has the bad luck to be sent to a children's correctional institution. There, conditions are little short of nightmarish. When the boys there riot, he escapes confinement for a short while but is soon recaptured and sent to another institution, which is run by women. If conditions at the first of these locations were almost unbearable, the situation he finds himself in at the second is even worse. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A suspenseful adventure yarn that climaxes in all-out action at high noon, this taut tale is about an Argentine writer jailed in Bolivia for political reasons and then released when a new and liberal government takes over. He is now on a train home that is due to arrive at the Bolivian/Argentine border at midday. The catch is that a fascist general who has vowed that the writer will never go home again is waiting for him at the border town with a phalanx of armed men. Into this potential disaster walks an innocent geologist (Bernard Giraudeau) who first tries to avoid the ominous situation and then gets hopelessly involved. The writer's pretty daughter (Claudia Ohana) is also on hand to meet her father. She and the geologist are thrown together by circumstances, but a romance is not in the cards and not in the script either. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide