Category Archives: Spanish Cinema

Ileán Almaguer & co in “El Quinto Mandamiento” [2012 Mexico]

Rafael Lara’s latest drama “El Quinto Mandamiento” [Eng. Title: The Fifth Commandment] is a psychological thriller of the oh-haven’t-I-seen-this-before variety, but I guess most mainstream films are these days, and this one is as mainstream as a Mexican Taco. At … Continue reading

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María León in “La Voz Dormida” [2011 Spain]

Having enjoyed watching his previous two feature films, I’m surprised Benito Zambrano hasn’t made many more. There’s great deal of attention paid to composition and lighting in his films and he certainly wants his audience to remember the scenes long … Continue reading

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Diana Bernedo & co in “Al Acecho del Leopardo” [2011, Mexico]

“Al Acheco del Leopardo” [Eng. title: The Stalking of the Leopard] is writer Enrique Renteria’s first foray into directing feature-length films, and I’m sure it must have been a learning curve of sorts for him. Having said that, it isn’t … Continue reading

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Aina Clotet in “Elisa K” [2010 Spain]

Before “Elisa K”, I’d seen only one other film of veteran Catalan writer-director Jordi Cadena (from the ‘destape’ years, starring a young Ana Belén). For this film however, the directorial credits are shared with Judith Colell whose filmography I’m totally … Continue reading

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Silvia Navarro & Diana García in “Labios Rojos” [2011 Mexico]

Rafael Lara’s “Labios Rojos” [Eng. Title: Red Lips] is your stereotypical mainstream comedy about marital woes (predominantly sexual) where the characters are usually caricatures and ridden with cliché. This film might as well have been churned out twenty years ago … Continue reading

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