Maria Luisa San Jose Movies

The third installment of director Jose Luis Garcia Sanchez's state-of-Spain trilogy, which began in 1995 with Whispers of Spain (and Portugal). Roguish Juan (Juan Luis Galiardo) lives by himself, eking out a dubious living from gambling money and blackmailing various women who were once his lovers, one of whom is Alicia (Teresa Gimpera). When Caty (Laura Ramos), a would-be athlete, materializes on Juan's doorstep one day claiming to be his daughter by a tryst in Havana 20 years earlier, Juan finds the order of his daily existence thrown into peril. Caty is in search of Spanish residence, and is helped in her quest by Pepe (Juan Echanove), a cop who has recently been left by Juan's other daughter Carmela (Neus Asensi) -- for Tony (Pedro Miguel Martinez), a bisexual hairdresser. The plot twists again when Juan is contacted by Alicia's husband, a sleazy crook by the name of Pozueta (Jesus Bonilla), who wants Juan to go to jail in his place. Pozueta is smitten with Caty and offers to marry her but must get a divorce in order to do so, thus arranges a deal with Juan to record Alicia in bed with her new lover. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

The depth of bonding between young Santiago (Juan Diego Botto) and his dying grandfather, as well as his grandfather's foreman Teo, underlies this interesting drama. After Santiago and his family arrive at his grandfather's farm, the elderly gentleman dies but not before telling his grandson a secret. On the one hand, Santiago is the heir to his grandfather's farm, and on the other, he may just have a special relationship to Teo (Alvaro de Luna), his grandfather's foreman. The little boy has a few playmates in his cousins who live on the farm with their parents, and he follows his idol Teo around with a child's admiration for his strength and unique personality. But when tragedy steps into the picture, Santiago's faith in Teo is put to the test. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Roberto Orbea (Jose M. Sacristan) is a Spanish socialist politician who used to be a lawyer. In the film, which is almost completely told in "flashbacks," he reminisces about his recent life. Despite many years of hiding his political beliefs, he is imprisoned and realizes while in prison that he is genuinely homosexual. All along, he has tried to put his sexuality aside, and he married a woman who shares his political beliefs. Even after his release at the end of the Franco era, he tries to avoid expressing his homosexuality, but eventually he and his wife set up a menage a trois with Juanito (Jose Luis Alonzo), a rough young adolescent who is probably a hustler. Featuring an appearance of the renowned director Juan Antonio Bardem, this film raised an outcry at the time of its first release for its explicit depiction of homosexual acts and for its outspokenly pro-Marxist political statements. The film also gained notoriety because it appears to tell the story of several well-known figures in Spanish society. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

When an elderly relative (Francisco Rabal) who has made a fortune in the Americas returns to Spain for a visit with his relatives, the mother (Conchita Velasco) of a bevy of daughters feels certain that at least one of them can snare him for a secure future. Imagine her frustration, then, when the old fellow falls in love with the family's servant girl (Ana Belen). Not only is she haplessly preventing the family's daughters from snaring a mate, the servant has been having an affair with a priest which was not good for anyone. In the end, the old man's love prevails, the conscience-ridden priest is freed of his entanglement, and the newly married couple move out of the country. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi