Spain

  • Pedro Olea – No es bueno que el hombre esté solo AKA It’s No Good for a Man to Be Alone (1973)

    Pedro Olea1971-1980DramaSpainSpanish cinema under FrancoThriller

    Martin (played by José Luis López Vázquez, a legend of Spanish film and theatre) is a middle-aged engineer employed by a big shipbuilding firm in the northern city of Bilbao. Quiet, diligent in his work and reserved, Martin is a model of respectability. His secretary, Monica (played by Helga Line) often asks about his wife, whom no-one has ever met and who seems to be an invalid.

    Every evening after work, Martin returns to his big, gloomy house that looks out over the bay and towards the north Atlantic Ocean.Read More »

  • Armand Rovira & Saida Benzal – Letters to Paul Morrissey (2018)

    Armand Rovira2011-2020DramaExperimentalSaida BenzalSpain
    Letters to Paul Morrissey (2018)
    Letters to Paul Morrissey (2018)

    Four celluloid letters sent from different parts of the globe to Paul Morrissey, director of Trash, Flesh and Heat, collaborator with Warhol and agent for the Velvet Underground.Read More »

  • Pedro Olea – La casa sin fronteras AKA The House Without Frontiers (1972)

    Pedro Olea1971-1980DramaHorrorSpainSpanish cinema under Franco
    La casa sin fronteras (1972)
    La casa sin fronteras (1972)

    Daniel, a young man in his twenties, moves from his hometown to the city of Bilbao in search of… a chance to discover himself. When he is not looking for work, he spends his time reading in the city library. One day Daniel encounters an elderly and seemingly kind old gentleman who commends his desire to educate himself. He says he might be able to find Daniel a job and sure enough, he starts work for an organization called The House Without Frontiers. After a short period of probation, Daniel is summoned to the organizations labyrinthine headquarters and is given his instructions. Although much is still not clear to him, it seems he is being asked to locate a young woman called Anabel Campos (played by Geraldine Chaplin). It turns out that Anabel, like Daniel, had accepted a job with the House Without Frontiers but fled the organization after a senior member of the tribunal was found murdered. Was she guilty? Is she in hiding or has she vanished without a trace?Read More »

  • León Klimovsky – Doctor Jekyll y el Hombre Lobo AKA Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf (1972)

    León Klimovsky1971-1980HorrorSci-FiSpainSpanish cinema under Franco
    Doctor Jekyll y el Hombre Lobo (1972)
    Doctor Jekyll y el Hombre Lobo (1972)

    Quite simply the most crazed and delirious film of Spanish horror icon Paul Naschy’s long career. The trouble starts when our favorite El Hombre Lobo, Waldemar Daninsky (Naschy, of course) goes to the infamous Dr Jekyll (Euro-cult fave Jack Taylor) for help ridding himself of the lycanthropy curse. Things don’t exactly go as planned. The results are some of the most bizarre and entertaining moments of the entire 70s Spanish horror boom.Read More »

  • Various – Gure oroitzapenak (2018)

    Various2011-2020ArthouseDramaSpain
    Gure oroitzapenak (2018)
    Gure oroitzapenak (2018)

    The countenance of the basque writer Joseba Sarrionandia is multi-faceted, not only for having dabbled in all literary forms of expression, but for having been capable of creating his own imagery, composed of endless worlds. Thus, several of the elements appearing in the literary world will undoubtedly appear here: the sea, the port, childhood, trains, uprooting, war, destruction, love, drifting, pain, fantasy, mystery, initiation, torture.Read More »

  • Pablo Berger – Robot Dreams (2023)

    2021-2030AnimationDramaPablo BergerSpain
    Robot Dreams (2023)
    Robot Dreams (2023)

    DOG lives in Manhattan and he’s tired of being alone. One day he decides to build himself a robot, a companion. Their friendship blossoms, until they become inseparable, to the rhythm of 80’s NYC. One summer night, DOG, with great sadness, is forced to abandon ROBOT at the beach. Will they ever meet again?Read More »

  • Lois Patiño – Samsara (2023)

    Lois Patiño2021-2030DramaSpain
    Samsara (2023)
    Samsara (2023)

    In the temples of Laos, teenage monks accompany a soul in transit from one body to another through the bardo. A luminous and sonorous journey leads to reincarnate on the beaches of Zanzibar, where groups of women work in seaweed farms.Read More »

  • Edgar Neville – La vida en un hilo (1945)

    Edgar Neville1941-1950ComedyDramaSpain
    La vida en un hilo (1945)
    La vida en un hilo (1945)

    One of the better films of Edgar Neville, and one that should be more well-known, “La vida en un hilo” tells the now classic story of a woman that, in a certain time of her life, takes a decision that defines the rest of her fate completely, and at the same time we see the what-ifs of the other decision. What makes this movie different from Sliding Doors is that the what-if is told by a fortune-teller that our main star meets in a train.Read More »

  • Eloy de la Iglesia – Los placeres ocultos AKA Hidden Pleasures (1977)

    Eloy de la Iglesia1971-1980DramaEroticaQueer Cinema(s)Spain
    Los placeres ocultos (1977)
    Los placeres ocultos (1977)

    A highly controversial film upon its release in Spain as the first feature narrative with homosexuality openly discussed, Hidden Pleasures follows Eduardo, a wealthy banker who has a pastime for hiring young street hustlers to keep his bed warm, yet ignores requests from a friend to join the social gay movements. One day while cruising around town he spots Miguel, an extremely handsome teen who has a penchant for women and motorcycles. Eduardo offers Miguel a job and eventually gets closer and closer with him. Eduardo’s building lust and the jealousy of others in their lives creates havoc for all.Read More »

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