About Almejas y mejillones, he wrote, "It was quite a sleeper. Hated by the critics, and not well received by movie-goers, it found a niche audience with teenagers. Girls love Jorge Sanz and boys aren't indifferent to Leticia Brédice and Silke." Count me as one of the boys that is not indifferent.

About Fugitivas, He mentions that Laia Marull has also had nude appearances on the Spanish stage, which is not unusual in Spain. Rumor has it that they are trying to hire Kathleen Turner to play every other night in the Graduate. Her Spanish is that good. Also, Gwyneth Paltow has native fluency, due to summering in a small Spanish beach town. Perhaps we will see her in a Spanish language film.

Emma Suárez was pregnant during the second half of filming for La ardilla roja, which accounts for the abbreviated nudity in that film.

Las Edades de Lulú and and Malena es un nombre de tango were both based on novels by Almudena Grandes. She is more popular with women readers, and has said that Lulu was based on her fantasies, while Malena was autobiographical.

The historical background of Tuno negro is pure fiction invented for the film, but Tuno do exist. While some older women enjoy their serenades in 17th century costume, most people hate them. Thus, when a cop near the end of the film shoots every Tuno he sees, many in the audience are cheering. Silke, who is an accomplished kick boxer, did many of her own stunts in the film.

Now on to tonight's two films....

Belle époque (1992) has been compared to Sirens, which was released the same year, in that they are both joyous celebrations of lust. While Belle époque has far less nudity than Sirens, it has far more humor, and is just plain fun. In 1931 young Fernando, Jorge Sanz, deserts from the army, and ends up in a small town staying with painter Manolo, Fernando Fernán Gómez. Manolo has always wanted a son, Fernando can cook, and the two agree on politics. Then Manolo's four daughters come for a visit, and Manolo tries to send Fernando to Madrid, but after seeing the daughters, Fernando somehow misses his train. Manolo says, "I knew this would happen when he got a whiff of my girls' pussies."

The four girls couldn't possibly be much different. Penélope Cruz, the youngest, is ripe and virginal and eager. Maribel Verdú is engaged to the richest boy in town, but can't tolerate his mother. Gabino Diego is widowed, but misses having a man in her bed and between her legs. Ariadna Gil is gay. Fernando ends up having sex , and falling deeply in love with, each of the four in turn. First Gil dresses him in a maids outfit for a fiesta, and goes as a soldier, then seduces him in a hay loft after the dance. Second, he comforts Verdú after a fight with her fiancee. Third, he walks along the river with Diego, where her husband drowned during a picnic, and the two end up in the river, and then, it is inferred, in the sack. Finally, he ends up with Cruz, who marries him, but not before trying him on.

Manolo has a liberal priest friend who won't oppose his liberal views, a wife he can't cheat on, and the military wouldn't take him, so he is cursed with being a happy man. There is lots of liberal politics, as well as satire about early revolution politics during this short "belle époque" between the monarchy and Franco Fascism. Ariadna Gil shows breasts during the sex scene in poor light, and both Maribel Verdú and Penélope Cruz have pokies and underwear shots.

The film won Best picture Goya, Best foreign Language Oscar and BAFTA, and seven other Goya's. IMDB readers say 7.2 of 10, and critics are enthusiastic, with Berardinelli at 3 stars, and Ebert at 3 1/2. Ebert makes a great point:

"Like the otherwise dissimilar "Sirens," from around the world in Australia, "Belle Epoque" celebrates sensuality and the human body. It is a reminder that sex can be kind and gentle, tender and beautiful. American films link "sex and violence" so compulsively that we can hardly imagine an attractive woman who isn't hiding an icepick behind her back... Seeing this film and "Sirens" in the same season, I was reminded that the movies once considered eroticism an end in itself, and not simply the prelude to a slasher scene."

Amen, Roger. I adored this film. There are no deep truths, no serious conflicts, very little violence -- and that played for comedy. What it does have is a great collection of characters, all well-developed and well-acted, and a wonderful ambience partly do to the story, and partly due to the art direction and cinematography. B.

La Niña de tus ojos (1998) has some basis in historical fact. During the Spanish revolution, some Spanish film companies went to Germany to make films. They were under the watchful eye of Joseph Goebbels, who was minister of propaganda. They frequently made two versions of the film, one in German and one in Spanish at the same time. For more details on the historical facts, refer to the tops of the last two images.

This film, which translates "The Girl of Your Dreams," is the story of such a troupe who escapes the war in Spain for a nice peaceful stay in Nazi Germany. From that statement alone, it should be obvious that it is a comedy. The female lead of the film they are making (which is called The Girl of Your Dreams), Penélope Cruz, is sleeping with the director, but attracts the attention of Goebbels, who was a notorious pussie hound. She is more or less sacrificed by her troupe to him so they can keep making films. The lead actor is regularly servicing the wife of the Spanish ambassador, and the German lead, a tall Arian stud, is gay, and scheming on the lead actor.

Cruz befriends a Russian Jew they bring in as an extra when the Spanish troupe isn't impressed with blonde haired, blue eyed Arians playing Spanish gypsies. "Look at us, we even have black hair on our tongues." Much of the film involves conversations between the two companies, one speaking Spanish, the other German, with a translator, and much of the humor comes from the dialogue. Seldom does the translator dare translate what either group is actually saying.

IMDB readers have this at a respectable 7.3 of 10, and it won 9 awards, including Goya's for best picture and Best Actress (Cruz), and had 14 other nominations. Comments at IMDB are sharply divided between non-Spanish speakers who thought it was trite, and Spanish speakers who thought it was absolutely hilarious, but admit that a thorough knowledge of Spanish and some knowledge of Spanish history helps with appreciation of the film. The cinemagraphic style has the look of the 30's, but is full of amazing imagery, hence the large number of different tops on my images. Cruz shows breasts in a bath scene and a sex scene, and has cleavage and pokies several times. I also enjoyed this very much, and admit that my knowledge of German helped. B-.