Maribel Verdú Movies

Vicente Aranda's Lovers is set in Spain, mostly in Madrid, during the 1950s. The story line is reminiscent of Theodore Dreiser's classic An American Tragedy (which was filmed as A Place in the Sun), wherein a passive, amoral, and shallow protagonist inadvertently destroys the lives of two women who love him. The handsome Paco (Jorge Sanz, who also starred in Belle Epoque and has been called "the Spanish Tom Cruise") is a young soldier involved with a virginal maid, Trini (Maribel Verdu of Y Tu Mama Tambien). Trini is saving her money and planning for their wedding, but Paco tells her not to worry, that he will find a job and save money for them. Paco leaves the army, but has trouble finding and keeping a steady job. He ends up renting a cheap room from Luisa (Spanish superstar Victoria Abril, best known for her work in Pedro Almodovar's films), a beautiful and mysterious widow. Before long, Luisa has seduced the sexually frustrated Paco, and involved him in her moneymaking scams. Trini quickly figures out what is going on, and makes a desperate effort to win back Paco's affection. Paco is obsessed with the sexually experienced and voracious older woman, but is unable to break off his long-term relationship with Trini. He attempts to string them both along, with disastrous results. The film was the first of veteran filmmaker Aranda to get a theatrical release in the United States, thanks largely to Abril's star power, and caused a minor sensation with its sexual explicitness, in particular the infamous "handkerchief scene." ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

This confusing and meandering mystery concerns a double crime committed in a rural village in 1956. Greedy land speculators, soldiers on leave, a house of prostitution, and a smuggler with a mentally challenged daughter are the focus of this crime drama that lacks suspense and suffers from being to disconnected. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

A hopeless, bleak mood hangs over this heavy drama about three teens in San Sebastian, a port city on the Bay of Biscay in the Basque country of Spain. Covert references are made to political issues like the miseries of shipyard workers and to the police as rather brusque and hard-nosed. Drugs are rampant in the lower orders of city life; one of the teens has dropped out of high school and is a user, as is his girlfriend. He survives by stealing and by handouts from his family, who nevertheless want nothing to do with him. No matter how much a third teen friend tries to get this couple to give up the habit, nothing works. The ultimate question, though not emphasized here, may be who is really responsible for what happens to this unfortunate young couple. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide