Spanish cinema – films, we have seen recelty and which are definately worth watching.

Photo from the film "Born Twice" (Venuto al Mundo)

Abre Los Ojos - Open Your Eyes

This is a psychological thriller from 1997 directed by Alejandro Amenábar. We will see Eduardo Noriega and Penélope Cruz, both very young, just beginning their careers. The film begins with a scene in a prison cell, a young man hiding his face behind a mask is telling the psychiatrist Antonio (Chete Lera) how he got there.

César (Eduardo Noriega), the main character, was rich, handsome and love women. César’s best friend Pelayo (Fele Martínez) brought an attractive girl named Sofia (Penélope Cruz) to his birthday party. César fell in love with her, which made his ex-lover Nuria (Najwa Nimri - known from the third and fourth season of the very popular Spanish TV series "House of Paper") very jelous. She managed to persuade César to go for a car ride with her, she was driving. She intentionally caused an accident which resulted in her death. César surrvived but was horribly disfigured and the doctors were unable to help him. From now on, nothing is clear - César begins to have disorienting visions.

If the plot of the film sounds familiar, and you haven't seen it yet, it's because the American remake was created, which gained much more popularity than the original. The main roles belong to Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz and Penélope Cruz (also Sofia) - of course we are talking about"Vanilla Sky". I don't know what your opinion about remakes is, but I completely don't understand their phenomenon. I remember how long I was impressed after reading the Millennium trilogy written by Stieg Larsson and watching the Swedish film. I was surprised when a terrible American remake with Daniel Craig suddenly appeared. Why terrible? Actually, I should write senseless, why make a remake of a really great production? The original Swedish version lacks nothing ...

Therefore, I will not recommend Vanilla Sky, I will recommend "Open your eyes". Later, of course, you can watch the US version to compare, but I think I will always vote for the originals.

Relatos Salvajes - "Wild Tales"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaowYFm8rME

A great Spanish-Argentine black comedy about how people can lose their temper. The director is Damián Szifrón and we can find the Almodóvar brothers among the producers. If you learn Spanish in "Wild Stories" you can listen to how it is spoken in Argentina and there are some, sometimes significant, differences in pronunciation.

The film tells six independent stories, which, however, have something in common. We see how a person reacts and takes revenge for, among others, being underestimated, for injustice, death of a family member, betrayal or simply a parking ticket. In an exaggerated way, we see what ordinary, inconspicuous, outbursts of anger or aggression can lead to. The film is very dynamic and surprising, and in my opinion the finale, in which the director takes us to a "bloody" wedding, deserves the most attention. I definitely recommend it!

Volver a Nacer (original title Venuto al Mondo) - "Born Twice"

Another filmwith Penélope Cruz (which we are also planning to write a separate article about her in the future) that you just have to watch. Amazing, suspenseful war drama, in which most of the action takes place in Sarajevo. It is a screen adaptation of the book by Margaret Mazzantini. I haven't read it yet, but I've seen many opinions that it's (slightly) better than the film, and that's enough to put it in the top of my to-read list. This is a Spanish-Italian-Croatian production and this time we will hear the Italian language in the original, but because the Spanish are dubbing everything, a Spanish-language version is also available.

Gemma (Penélope Cruz) takes her teenage son Pietro (Pietro Castellitto) to Sarajevo, where his father died during the war in Bosnia. Pietro has lived all his life in Rome with his mother in Rome nd does not understand why he was born in Sarajevo, so we expect a sentimental journey during which the mother wants to show her son his roots and origin. What we really witness is a story of passionate romance, love, friendship and brutal war reality.

Young Gemma, when she is a student, goes to Sarajevo and meets an American photographer Diego (Emile Hirsch - known from "Into the wild", one of our favourite films ever, we even have graffiti on our van with the title). They fall in love, war breaks out, so they move to Italy. Gemma becomes pregnant but unfortunately loses her baby. She is trying to get pregnant again for a long time and it slowly becomes her obsession. In Sarajevo, the young girl Aska (Saadet Aksoy) wants to become their surrogate.

The actress playing Aska - Saadet Aksoy - deserves special attention, her acting, in addition to Penélope Cruz’s, really stands out. Both ladies definitely dominate the film, which I really highly recommend. This is one of the best film I've ever seen in general. It’s a strong 10/10.

Contratiempo - „The Invisible Guest”

The 2016 film directed by Oriol Paulo is a Spanish mystery thriller which keeps in suspense from the first to the last scene. Particularly noteworthy is the atmosphere of the entire production - the soundtrack, photos, camera shots, the "gray" colors introduce even more anxiety.

Adrián Doria (Mario Casas) is waiting for his lawyer Virginia Goodman (Ana Wagener), who is supposed to help him prepare a defense line because he is facing a court case - he was accused of murdering his lover Laura Vidal (Bárbara Lennie). Adrián is a young, rich and respected businessman and Virgina Goodman is the best in her profession, she has never lost a case and specializes in preparing the accused to testify in court. Virginia informs Adrián that a new witness has appeared and they have 180 minutes to prepare before the trial, thus forcing him to tell the story again from the very beginning. She constantly draws attention to seemingly irrelevant details that are evidence of gaps in what her client is telling. She is convinced that Adrián has not yet told the truth and his statements are false, and she will not be able to help him until she finds out what really happened.

We are not dealing here with an amazing acting or too much dynamics, but the film is suspenseful and is a very classic detective story, which recently don’t appear much.

Planta 4 - " The 4th Floor"

The film based on the theater play by Albert Espinos "Los Pelones" ("The bald ones") is about what is happening on the fourth floor of the hospital, in the traumatology department.

A beautiful story about a friendship of a few teenage boys who meet in a hospital. They struggle together with the terrible reality they are forced to live in but they remain optimistic - they joke, fool around, slip out of their hospital rooms at night, organize wheelchair races and take x-ray photos when the doctors are not watching.

I smiled as many times as I cried while watching this film. It is a pity that these types of films rarely become famous internationally because it is one of those Spanish productions that definitely should not be missed.

Vengo

This is a musical drama - a beautiful story in a beautiful setting. I especially recommend it to flamenco fans because the music accompanies us throughout the whole film and is actually its main element. The action takes place in Andalusia, among the gypsies, tells about the reality of their lives and the conflict between the two families. The main character Caco can not reconcile himself after the death of his beloved daughter.

This is not a film one should be writing about. This is a film that must be watched but above all listened to, because this time it’s the music that tells the story.

If you would like to read about Spanish comedies have a look here - How to become a Basque? Can a Spaniard have super powers? Why is it better not to tell your wife about winning the lottery during your divorce? – You will find answers to these and several other questions in 7 Spanish comedies that we want to recommend to you today