Mario Casas Movies

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

Director Antonio Banderas's reflective sophomore drama follows nascent poet Miguelito (Alberto Amarilla) and his best friends, Paco (Félix Gómez) and Babirusa (Raúl Arévalo), as they confront their pasts and ponder their futures while coming of age in 1970s-era southern Spain. Based on the novel by author Antonio Soler, the story centers largely on Miguelito's relationship with the beautiful Luli (María Ruiz) and his struggle to move beyond his youthful indiscretions. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi