Hierro (Spain, 2009)

This has a 5.6 user rating on imdb and I can only imagine that audiences, expecting a horror movie, were disappointed by the slow pace of this beautifully made film. Mostly shot on the desolate Canary island, Hierro, this Orphange-influenced mother-looking-for-son film is graced by fabulous direction by Gabe Ibanez (his first feature). Although the [...]

[REC] (Spain, 2007)

While there might be nothing original about this zombie movie – the girl above originates from Night of the Living Dead (1968) – there’s plenty of thrills to be derived from the ‘it’s all being recorded as it happens’; also seen in The Blair Witch Project (1998), Day of the Dead (also 2007) and predating [...]

Timecrimes (Los cronocrímenes, Spain, 2007)

This is a nicely constructed low tech science fiction time travel story that entwines itself with horror and a horrific moral dilemma. For those familiar with time travel paradox stories, Timecrimes often seems to be treading well trodden water but then twists the narrative in interesting ways. No spoilers here but I do wonder if [...]

Ordinary Boys (Chico normales, Spain, 2008)

The premise of this film is fascinating: it’s set in a Moroccan village where the Madrid bombers originated and looks at the ordinary lives of its residents. It doesn’t quite work for me but there was much that was engaging. The film attempts to look at the social context – poverty – that leads individuals [...]

Sex and Lucia (Sexo y Lucia (Spain-France, 2001)

Director – Julio Medem Producer – Fernand Bovaira, Enrique Lopez Lavigne Script – Julio Medem Art Direction – Montse Sanz Cinematography – Kiko de la Rica Music – Alberto Iglesias Cast – Paz Vega, Tristan Ulloa, Najwa Nimri, Daniel Freire Running time 128 mins. Narrative, and shifting identities, are themes that run through Medem’s films [...]

The Butterfly’s Tongue (La Lengua de las mariposas, Spain, 1999)

SPOILERS: DON’T READ THIS UNTIL YOU’VE SEEN THIS WONDERFUL FILM. This is an extraordinary film; the bulk of it is the coming of age story of the asthmatic Moncho (a performance by Manuel Lozano to rival Ana Torrent in Spirit of the Beehive) and then, in the final 10 minutes, the Civil War starts. The [...]

The Spirit of the Beehive (El Espíritu de la colmena, Spain, 1973)

“Now without bitterness nor contempt now without fear of changes; only thirst…a thirst of a little something that kills me. Rivers of life, where do you run? Air! it’s air I need. What do you see in the dark depths? What is it that makes you tremble and fall silent? I can’t see! I look [...]

The Orphanage (El Orfanato, Spain, 2007)

Boy or ghost? WARNING: THIS IS FULL OF SPOILERS. This movie pinned me back in my seat in the cinema but, as it’s an example of the ‘fantastic’ – where everything might simply be a figment of the protagonist’s imagination – I wondered whether it would work on a second viewing: it does. The opening [...]

Pan’s Labyrinth (Mexico-Spain, 2006)

A brilliant fantasy combining the brutal realism of the Spanish Civil War with a young girl’s escapist (after a fashion) fantasies. There’s a brilliant line describing fascism (accepting orders unthinkingly) and Sergio Lopez plays evil brilliantly. Visually stunning (all on E15m apparently) and emotionally gripping. One of the movies of the year. (Pictureville) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457430/

Talk to Her (Spain, 2002)

Is Almodovar the most popular arthouse director in the west? I’ve found this and Bad Education (2004) a disappointment and I’m not sure why. I enjoy daring cinema particularly with a sense of humour. Talk to Her delivers both but I guess I’m bored with the Almodovar formula. Nevertheless if you haven’t seen it do [...]