Alvaro Augustin
- 2008
The realities of terrorism in Spain provide the backdrop for this political thriller from writer and director Manuel Gutierrez Aragon. Xabier (Jose Coronado) is a well-respected university professor who is a member of an exclusive Basque dining club. The club is home to a number of Basque nationalists who believe the use of terror against the Spanish government is appropriate and justified; Xabier does not share these views, and speaking out against terrorist violence at their gatherings has earned him several enemies. While Xabier believes the members of his club defend terrorism as theory rather than practice, he discovers that's not the case when one of the loyalists threatens his life and unknown invaders ransack his apartment. Meanwhile, Xabier's girlfriend is Francesca (Vanessa Incontrada), who works as a clinical psychologist in a Spanish prison hospital. One of Francesca's newest patients is Josu Jon (Oscar Jaenada), a Basque terrorist who suffered a head injury when he wrecked his car while being chased by police. Josu Jon has lost much of his memory, and as Francesca helps him piece his life back together, he finds he can no longer support the cause for which he was once willing to die. But Olatz (Leire Ucha), leader of the terrorist cell Josu Jon worked with, is not about to let one of his soldiers walk away without a fight. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oscar Jaenada, Jose Coronado, (more)
When an American couple (Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer) traveling from China to Moscow on the Trans-Siberian Railway meets an outwardly friendly couple (Eduardo Noriega and Kate Mara) traveling the same route, deception soon gives way to murder in The Machinist director Brad Anderson's tense tale of international intrigue. Ben Kingsley and Thomas Kretschmann co-star as a pair of Russian police officers striving to solve the case and stop the rising body count. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Harrelson, Emily Mortimer, (more)
- 2008
Part two of director Steven Soderbergh's Che Guevara saga, Guerrilla, begins with the famed Cuban revolutionary at the absolute peak of his fame and power. Disappearing suddenly, Guevara subsequently resurfaces in Bolivia to organize a modest group of Cuban comrades and Bolivian recruits in preparation for the Latin American Revolution. But while the Bolivian campaign would ultimately fail, the tenacity, sacrifice, and idealism displayed by Guevara during this period would make him a symbol of heroism to followers around the world. Though The Argentine and Guerrilla were screened together at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, they were set to be released separately in U.S. theaters later that same year. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2008
Nearly 40 years after Che Guevara's execution in Bolivia, director Steven Soderbergh retraces the life of the iconic Cuban revolutionary across the span of two feature-length films -- The Argentine and Guerrilla. The Argentine begins on November 26, 1956, as Fidel Castro (Demián Bichir) sails into Cuban waters with 80 rebels in tow. Among those rebels is Argentine doctor Ernesto "Che" Guevara (Benicio Del Toro), a man who shares Castro's dream of overthrowing corrupt dictator Fulgencio Batista. As the struggle gets under way, Guevara proves an indispensable part of the revolution due to his firm grasp on the concepts of guerilla warfare. Guevara is heartily embraced by both his comrades and the Cuban people, and quickly rises through the ranks to become first a commander, and ultimately a revolutionary hero. Part two of the saga, Guerrilla, begins with Guevara at the absolute peak of his fame and power. Disappearing suddenly, Guevara subsequently resurfaces in Bolivia to organize a modest group of Cuban comrades and Bolivian recruits in preparation for the Latin American Revolution. But while the Bolivian campaign would ultimately fail, the tenacity, sacrifice, and idealism displayed by Guevara during this period would make him a symbol of heroism to followers around the world. The Argentine and Guerrilla were screened together as Che at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, and also received a limited theatrical release under that same title in U.S. theaters later that same year. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Benicio Del Toro, Demián Bichir, (more)
- 2008
A young Argentine mathematician visiting the United Kingdom is drawn into a complex murder mystery when his landlady is brutally slain in director Alex de la Iglesia's tense and stylish thriller. John Hurt stars in a film scripted by longtime de la Iglesia collaborator Jorge Guerricaechevarría. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elijah Wood, John Hurt, (more)
- 2008
Steven Soderbergh's The Argentine stars Benicio Del Toro as Che Guevara. The film opens with Che as one of the important figures in the growing Cuban rebellion led by Fidel Castro (Demián Bichir). The movie charts how the two successfully built an underground army large enough to successfully overthrow the government of Fulgencio Batista. Soderbergh and Del Toro also team up again for a second biopic of Guevara titled Guerrilla, a movie that focuses on his life in the years after the Cuban revolution. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Benicio Del Toro, Javier Bardem, (more)
- 2007
A man traveling through rural Spain in search of the town where his girlfriend awaits becomes ensnared in a surreal waking nightmare in director Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego's intricate thriller. Quim (Leonardo Sbaraglia) was on his way to visit his girlfriend when he stopped off at an isolated gas station for some fuel and a quick trip to the restroom. But the men's toilet is out of order, and in his haste Quim ducks into the ladies room. Upon exiting ,Quim crosses paths with a mysterious beauty named Bea (Maria Valverde). The sexual tension is as immediate as it is undeniable, and the two strangers engage in some explosive, anonymous sex right there on the bathroom sink. Recognizing the opportunity in the moment, Bea absconds with Quim's wallet and lucky lighter. Of course, it isn't long before Quim realizes what's happened, and when he subsequently spies Bea's car sitting abandoned on an unmarked road, it seems like the perfect opportunity to retrieve his personal property. Suddenly, out of the quiet country air, a shot rings out and Quim is wounded. As Quim ducks for cover nearby, he sees that Bea is also hiding from the unseen sniper. Eventually the frightened pair manages to escape their assassin's bullets and make their way to the local police. Much to their surprise, the authorities not only voice doubt about the existence of the mysterious sniper, but also cast a troublingly suspicious eye on them. Regardless of their initial skepticism, however, the police are about to discover that anyone who dares venture out on this mountainside is immediately marked for death. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leonardo Sbaraglia, Maria Valverde, (more)
Pan's Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro produces director Juan Antonio Bayona's gothic frightener about a long-abandoned orphanage with a particularly troubling past. As a child, young orphan Laura spent her formative years being cared for by the staff of a large orphanage located by the Spanish seaside. Those were some of the happiest years of Laura's life, and now, 30 years later, the former charge returns to the dilapidated institution with her husband, Carlos, and their seven-year-old son, Simon, to reopen the orphanage as a facility for disabled children. However, something ominous haunts the darkened hallways of this silent, stately manor. When Simon's behavior begins to grow increasingly bizarre and malicious, Laura and Carlos start to suspect that the mysterious surroundings have awoken something ominous in the young boy's imagination. It's not long before Laura, too, is drawn into this disturbing web and the repressed memories of the past come flooding back in a terrifying torrent of tension and deeply disturbing revelations. With opening day drawing near and their situation growing increasingly grim by the hour, Carlos attempts to write off Simon's bizarre behavior as a desperate bid to get more attention from his distracted parents. Laura isn't so easily convinced of this theory, though, and soon embarks on a desperate quest to unearth the terrible secret that lurks in the old house, waiting for just the right moment to inflict devastating damage on both her and her family. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Geraldine Chaplin, Belén Rueda, (more)
Timothy Hutton (Ordinary People, Made in Heaven) stars in the direct-to-video psychological thriller The Kovak Box. He portrays David Norton, a novelist and control freak who builds his life around the strategic manipulation of his characters and storylines. But suddenly, Norton watches his own life spin rapidly out of control when he is plunged into a bizarre series of events. Upon arrival in an exotic Mediterranean locale for a business conference, Norton receives the devastating news that his wife just received a mysterious phone call and subsequently threw herself from the balcony of their apartment building. One at a time, each of Norton's friends and family members suffer from the same inexplicable fate. The author then searches desperately for answers and an escape from this black hole of terror, as the world closes in around him. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Hutton, Lucia Jimenez, (more)
- 2006
A fierce soldier fighting for the Spanish cause in Flanders returns to a drastically different Spain to fulfill the dying wish of a fallen friend, only to find that life isn't what it once was in his decaying homeland in director Agustín Díaz Yanes' adaptation of Arturo Pérez-Reverte's popular series of best-selling books. Compelled to fulfill the final wish of his dying friend, noble warrior Alatriste (Viggo Mortensen) makes his way back to Spain to care for the man's young son, Iñigo (Nacho Perez and Unax Ugalde). Things have taken a sharp turn for the worst back home, however, and as Alatriste does his best to help the boy reach manhood while earning his keep as a hired swordsman, he sees his country crumbling at the feet of a feeble monarch who is failing to grasp the inner workings of his own corrupt court. The impulsive handling of the Spanish Inquisition, coupled with the corrosive influence of the Count-Duke of Olivares (Javier Cámara), has brought a once-powerful nation to its knees as the growing chasm between the deceitful upper class and the miserable life of the commoners has effectively served to polarize the populace. In a time when corruption reigns and honor has faded, Alatriste remains a lone figure who refuses to relinquish his noble spirit as he raises Iñigo and enters into a passionate love affair with actress Maria de Castro (Ariadna Gil). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Viggo Mortensen, Eduardo Noriega, (more)
- 2006
Spanish writer-director Emilio Martínez Lazáro's bawdy musical comedy romance Both Sides of the Bed (Los Dos Lados de la Cama, 2006) constitutes a sequel to that director's earlier musical The Other Side of the Bed (AKA El Otro Lado de la Cama, 2002). Just as that first film plays out the farcical romantic shenanigans of a group of single young men and their lovers, the sequel offers more of the same, but adds greater depth to the proceedings. The story finds Javier (Ernesto Alterio) and Marta (Veronica) celebrating their pending nuptials in a nightclub, on the evening before their wedding. They are accompanied by two friends romantically involved with one another, Pedro (Guillermo Toledo) and the chanteuse Raquel (Lucia Jimenez). The plans of each couple are soon undone by Marta's hesitation - the product of her undeclared lesbianism and carnal involvement with Raquel (evident when the women quietly slip off to the ladies' room and have intercourse). A third friend, Carlota (Pilar Castro), happens to stumble onto the women making it, but says nothing to the boys. The next morning, Marta jilts Javier, Raquel leaves Pedro, and the remainder of the film has the men gradually coming face-to-face with the girls' lesbianism, while forging a deeper bond with Carlota. Throughout the film, Lazáro laces his picture with bubble-gum music (predominantly breezy 1970s and 1980s Spanish pop hits) and electric choreography, performed by an ensemble of twenty dancers. In lieu of employing musical asides, the director integrates the musical numbers into individual scenes. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ernesto Alterio, Guillermo Toledo, (more)
- 2006
Director Jaime Balagueró's short feature To Let constitutes an installment in the Spanish horror 'hexalogy' 6 Films to Keep You Awake (6 peliculas para no dormir, 2006) - a multi-director miniseries, comparable to the American Masters of Horror, originally produced for and aired on Spanish television. This episode concerns Carolina and Tony, a newly married, expectant couple searching for an apartment to rent. Caught in a pounding rainstorm, they happen upon an abandoned property with a third level available to rent. The facility hardly looks inviting: its floors are littered with dismembered store mannequins, its rooms seemingly vacant. The real estate agent nonetheless assures them that the building is being renovated, and that two families have just moved in. He then invites Carolina and Tony to visit the third floor apartment and have a look around. They unwittingly oblige him, and soon find themselves suddenly entrapped in a prison of horror ruled over by a venomous, malevolent landlady. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro returns to the phantasmagorical cinema that defined such early fare as Cronos and The Devil's Backbone with this haunting fantasy-drama set in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War and detailing the strange journeys of an imaginative young girl who may be the mythical princess of an underground kingdom. Her mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), recently remarried to sadistic army captain Vidal (Sergi López) and soon to bear the cruel military man's child, shy young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) is forced to entertain herself as her recently-formed family settles into their new home nestled deep in the Spanish countryside. As Ofelia's bed-ridden mother lies immobilized in anticipation of her forthcoming child and her high-ranking stepfather remains determined to fulfill the orders of General Francisco Franco to crush a nearby guerilla uprising, the young girl soon ventures into an elaborate stone labyrinth presided over by the mythical faun Pan (Doug Jones). Convinced by Pan that she is the lost princess of legend and that in order to return to her underground home she must complete a trio of life-threatening tasks, Ofelia sets out to reclaim her kingdom and return to her grieving father as Vidal's housekeeper Mercedes (Maribel Verdú) and doctor (Alex Angulo) plot secretly on the surface to keep the revolution alive. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ariadna Gil, Ivana Baquero, (more)
Filmmaker Chus Gutiérrez directs this high-spirited comedy set in newly democratic Spain and detailing the adventures of a teenage virgin who flees to a decadent nightclub in order to escape her tyrannical mother. Sara (Verónica Sánchez) may be virginal, but as with most teens she's got a rebellious streak a mile wide. Upon discovering a Madrid club known as El Calentito, Sara finally finds a place where she can be her true self. Anything goes at El Calentito, and the vibe at the club is both pansexual and punk rock. Presiding over El Calentito is motherly transsexual Antonia (Nuria Gonzalez). One of the biggest bands on the local scene is Las Sioux, so when lesbian lead singer and Joan Jett lookalike Carmen (Ruth Diaz) and free-spirited Leo (Macarena Gomez) invite Sara to join the band, the eager adolescent jumps at the chance. But on the night of their performance for a hig-powered record executive, something astonishing happens -- the remaining members of Franco's fascist regime stage a daring coup d'état. Will El Calentito survive the ensuing chaos, and what will become of Las Sioux? With the future of the entire country suddenly thrown into doubt, the club is suddenly infused with a newfound sense of energy and urgency, and young, innocent Sara will experience sights and sounds that she could never have imagined. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Verónica Sánchez, Juan Sanz, (more)
