Drama

In this fugitive spree, the fleeing fellow gets angrier and angrier (and tired of the chase) when a little romance comes his way. ~ All Movie Guide

Hall Bartlett directs the rural drama The Children of Sanchez, based on the novel The Children of Sanchez: Autobiography of a Mexican Family written by Oscar Lewis in the '60s. Anthony Quinn stars as the widowed Jesus Sanchez, a poor farmer struggling to provide for his family in Mexico City. Also starring Lupita Ferrer as Consuelo and Stathis Giallelis as Roberto. This is the last film in the 50-year career of international star Dolores del Rio, who plays the Grandma. Jazz-pop performer Chuck Mangione was nominated for a Golden Globe and won a Grammy award for his original musical score. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

This is a sympathetic, observant drama about the trials and tribulations of Macabea (Marcelia Cartaxo) who has left her home in northeastern Brazil to seek her fortune in Sao Paulo. Macabea misses her friends and family but stays with her dreams for the future -- even in the face of unfair treatment from her fellow office workers, her boyfriend, and her roommates. She has many traits that would resonate in a wide range of viewers, and she easily carries this story based on a novel by Clarice Lispector. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Based on Caridad Bravo Adams' novel, this is the story of a man who eventually falls in love with a woman he had previously wanted to kill. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

While arch surrealist Luis Bunuel never made a secret of his skepticism about the existence of God, he was also raised as a strict Spanish Catholic and remained fascinated with the church's teaching throughout his life, and his obsessions with both faith and the contradictions of dogma provided the basis for this episodic satiric comedy. Jean (Laurent Terzieff) and Pierre (Paul Frankeur) are two threadbare vagabonds who are making their way from Paris to Spain on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, where the remains of Saint James are believed to be kept. While Jean and Pierre's journey begins in the 20th Century, as they travel they seemingly develop the ability to move through time and space as they pass through a variety of historical scenes taken from a broad range of theological texts -- and all involving heresy in one form or another. As they walk the long road to Santiago de Compostela (when they can't catch a ride), Jean and Pierre encounter Jesus (Bernard Verley), who decides not to shave his beard to keep his mother happy; a young boy with stigmata and unusual powers; the Marquis de Sade (Michel Piccoli), who patently struggles to teach atheism to a young girl he's captured; an eccentric priest who has an irreversible belief in transubstantiation until he changes his mind; two men who put their debate over Catholic dogma to the test in a duel with swords; and Satan (Pierre Clementi), who shows up just in time for a car wreck. La Voie Lactee (aka The Milky Way) was scripted by Bunuel and his frequent screenwriting collaborator Jean-Claude Carriere; each of the film's historic episodes was adapted faithfully from an actual biblical text or historical account. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this interesting cinematic tour of a woman's memory (winner of the 1985 Cannes Camera d'Or Award), Marie (Daniela Silverio) is a young Venezuelan who has been living in France and returns back home to liquidate her late aunt Oriana's hacienda. As Marie moves at a slow pace through the rooms of the hacienda, closed doors to chambers of memory in her mind begin to open. She recalls her adolescence spent in this house with her reclusive aunt, a woman who never left the premises. As Marie begins to remember events from that era from the perspective of an adult, she realizes why her aunt shut herself away. Parents should be advised that incest is a part of this story. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Barras Bravas is a Spanish film about the evil workings of a big-city drug ring. ~ All Movie Guide

El Signo de la Muerte stars the famous Mexican comedian Cantinflas as a mild mannered man who ends up running with a group of bad guys who kill women for fun. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

The life of a powerful actress is examined in this tragedy. The film begins with her demise during a plane crash. Later, the men who loved her try to figure out why she was always so unhappy. Her story is told in flashback. It begins in a small town where she was a dress shop model. She used the money from that job to pay for her acting lessons. Later she is seen meeting the director of a theater group. This encounter eventually gets her involved with a Mexican film studio. As she becomes increasingly popular, she has a series of men in her life. Though she has become rich, powerful, and sought after, the woman still feels a great void in her life. To begin a new life, she takes a plane to Europe. Unfortunately the plane crashes and her life tragically ends. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Juan Benegas (Vincete Fernandez) and his brother Pablo (Andres Garcia) return home for the funeral of their domineering mother in this comedy. Along with their father Pedro (Lalo Gonzalez), the brothers declare themselves free of restrictions and vow to have a good time. The three go to town where they pretend to be strangers to fleece the locals in a card game. Their winnings attract the attention of Rossy (Olivia Collins), a pretty bank robber who covets the cash and not the crooks. Soon father and sons are falling all over themselves for the woman, and the camaraderie is crushed. A mariachi band accompanies Fernandez on several ranchero songs. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This typical Mexican melodrama is set in a coastal fishing village where a wealthy fisherman (Pedro Armendariz) lives with his wife (Maria Felix) and young son (Juanito Musquiz). Their lives are turned upside down when an American of dubious morality (Jack Palance) comes into town. The American and the fisherman's wife had been lovers years and years ago -- and now the fisherman begins to suspect that the son he always thought was his, is really the offspring of this foreign intruder. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This big-budget Spanish drama pays tribute to the courageous women who sacrificed their lives during the Spanish Civil War in 1936. Maria's peaceful life as a nun is shattered when revolutionary anarchists force her and her sisters to flee their convent sanctuary. Maria ends up hiding in a brothel where she meets the good-hearted whore Charo. Their peace is in turn destroyed by the sudden arrival of Pilar, a passionate, idealistic member of the Free Women organization. Her fiery speeches and strong arm tactics compel the hookers and Maria to join their fight. A handsome ex-priest also joins them as they fight with the anarchists in Zaragoza. Following a small victory, the formerly trench-bound, battle-weary women celebrate, but then Maria finds herself faced with the destruction and death that goes with war. Later the former priest informs the women that they will not be allowed to fight upon the front lines and the women are left with broken ideals and angry hearts that lead them into one last, violent battle. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide