Albert Vidal Movies
In this soft-porn drama, the oversexed hunk Benito Javier Bardem) spends a good portion of his military service in north Africa dreaming of sex, money and power - but mostly sex. He can barely keep himself in control, and is constantly grabbing his crotch. Somehow, when he is released from the service, he marries the daughter (Maria de Medeiros) of a real moneybags, and he uses some of those resources to build a gigantic skyscraper in the form of a phallus. After a car crash leaves him partially paralyzed and very despondent, his ill-used wife kicks him out and he moves to Miami, where he picks up a woman who (in a reversal of roles) loves 'em and leaves 'em. For some reason, this circumstance cuts our previously almost irrepressibly priapic hero to the heart, and he sobbingly realizes the extent of his losses. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Javier Bardem, Maribel Verdú, (more)
- 1992
- PG13
This, the second of 1992's 500th anniversary Christopher Columbus films (the first being Warner Bros. Christopher Columbus: The Discovery), adheres to the historical facts of Columbus's (Gerard Depardieu) possessed quest to discover the New World, and his solicitation of Queen Isabella (Sigourney Weaver) to gain the necessary funding. Despite travelogue-quality footage replete with beautiful scenery of Caribbean islands and a massive cast, this film tends to plod along with too predictable a plot and a mis-cast Columbus. Depardieu -- a very capable French actor speaking English and playing an Italian -- becomes perhaps the movie's bright spot (even if at his own expense) as he laughably struggles with line after line. Michael Wincott puts forth a worthy performance as a nasty Spanish nobleman whose mistreatment of the natives results in an open rebellion. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Depardieu, Armand Assante, (more)
- 1990
After paying people-smugglers everthing they could afford, a mixed group of Africans and Arabs are brought to an abandoned beach in Spain and are left there to fend for themselves. Alou, who is from Senegal, is one of them. He actually manages to get by doing menial jobs, and gradually learns enough Spanish to have a modest social life. However, he has a quick temper, and easily interprets the actions of the well-meaning folks around him as slights and insults. As a result, he moves around a lot. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eulalia Ramon
Previously filmed in 1922 with Rudolph Valentino and in 1940 with Tyrone Power, Vicente Blasco Ibanez's mystical bullfight novel Blood & Sand was given a third big-screen treatment in 1989. Though filmed in Spain by a Spanish director, the 1989 Blood & Sand casts American actor Christopher Rydell as the bullfighter hero. Also hailing from the USA is a pre-Basic Instinct Sharon Stone, playing the vamp role previously essayed in 1922 by Nita Naldi and in 1940 by Rita Hayworth. The story remains the same: a dirt-poor youth rises to fame and fortune in the bull ring, forgets his roots, cheats on his wife, has a last-minute change of heart, and pays for his sins in grotesque fashion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Rydell, Sharon Stone, (more)
- 1988
Laura (Angela Molina) is caught in a love triangle with her husband Tomas (Juan Diego) and his half-brother Adrian (Sergi Mateu) in this routine melodrama. When Tomas ignores her, Laura finds love in the arms of a local textile manufacturer, only to discover later that the man is her husband's half-brother. Tomas learns of the infidelity and seeks vengeance against Laura and Adrian. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ángela Molina, Juan Diego, (more)
