Displaying all 2 Review

• Spanish expressionism (with spoiler) — for La torre de los siete jorobados
  Written by Salva on 22.08.2013

  "The tower of the seven hunchbacks" based in the Carrere's novel, is one of those cult film witch are defended over all things. And i thik it deserves that honor. In the middle spanish forties, the figure of Edgar Neville looks like a giant between dwarfs, maybe because of the most talented spanish creator were exiled out of the country.

  Is not the first horror film in Spain, it was a failure when releases, but today, maybe is the most notorious of that decade.

  Neville mixes the real Madrid of the XIX with the german expressionism with a simple but interesting story and few resources, and he got a great jewel of the spanish cinema.
  The good performance of the main characters (specially Antonio Casal and Isabel de Pomes) makes that simple story a very reliable thriller with a supernatural touch.

  Furthermore, distilled continuously surprising humor, close the surrealism. There are details that come from the Carrere's book nad others are simply invented. Anthologic is the appearance of the ghost of Robinson de Mantua and Napoleón. Both ghosts are living the room at the same time, struggling to show each other more kind and friendly.

  I think is the best film of this underrated director, and it's becoming an icon of the fantastic spanish cinema.

  Enjoy it.

• Do you love me? — for Grandeur nature
  Written by Salva on 30.08.2013

  The protagonist of this film (Michel Piccoli) supplies his lack of affection with a rubber doll "grandeur nature" (tamaño natural in spanish original title). This unusual situation, far from hiddind, is presented to other with relative normality, even he introduce her to his wife. That knowledge offers to the film a good irony "made in Berlanga".

  Is a poor film if we compare to "Plácido" or "Bienvenido Mr. Marshall" with the same tandem Berlanga/Azcona, but has enough good and ironic moments to be considerated as a interesting movie, superb Piccoli in his role of a mad dentist in love.

  To the end, the film becomes a ferocious portrait of the most ancient and musty Spain, really feels ashamed of that small group of sapnish that appears, composed of many spanish actors of the time (Manuel Aleixandre, Maria Luisa Ponte, Agustín Gonzalez ... ) A really good actors, and a really nasty roles.

  Michel Piccoli playing with his doll , is enough reason to watch this film from another underrated director out of Spain. 25 years later, they would work together again in "París-Tombuctú"