Spanish & Portuguese Cinema
Undoubtedly the backbone of Alice's Spanish collection are the films of Pedro Almodovar. Since the 1980s this unique film maker has been bringing us such gems as 'Laws of Desire', 'Women on the Verge...' and 'Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down' and nurturing the talents of actors such as Antonio Banderas, Victoria Abril and Penelope Cruz.
But there is more to Spanish film than the talented Mr Almodovar. Everything from the beautiful and haunting works of Carlos Saura to the off-beat and darkly humourous tales of Alex de Iglesia.
Pictured right: One-of-a-kind helmer, Pedro Almodovar.
The Devil's Backbone (2001)
7.5/10
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Federico Luppi, Eduardo Noriega, Marisa Paredes
From Guillermo Del Toro comes this haunting ghost story set in a Spanish orphanage that houses children of left-wing families during the final days of... Read more
The Ferpect Crime (2004)
7.1/10
Director: Alex De La Iglesia
Starring: Guillermo Toledo, Monica Cervera, Luis Varela
Aka 'The Ferpect Crime.' While working in the women's clothing section of a fashionable Madrid department store, a suave salesman makes money while pu... Read more
The Flower Of My Secret (1995)
7.1/10
Director: Pedro Almodovar
Starring: Imanol Arias, Juan Echanove, Marisa Paredes, Rossy de Palma
Leo is a middle-aged woman (Marisa Paredes) whose seemingly great life is slipping away. Her husband is about to leave her, she must care for her crot... Read more
The Heart of the Earth (2007)
6/10
Director: Antonio Cuadri
Starring: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Sienna Guillory, Philip Winchester, Bernard Hill, Joaqu...
Lavish historical epic begins with the brutal oppression of Spanish workers in the Rio Tinto coppermines in 1887. Owned by a British company, the mine... Read more
The Last Circus (2010)
6.6/10
Director: Alex De La Iglesia
Starring: Manuel Tallafe, Antonio de la Torre, Carlos Areces, Carolina Bang
Director Alex de la Iglesia presents this twisted tale of love and revenge set in a 1970s Spanish circus. Javier, a Sad Clown, finds work in a circus... Read more
The Method (2005)
7.3/10
Director: Marcelo Pineyro
Starring: Eduardo Noriega, Najwa Nimri, Eduard Fernandez, Pablo Echarri, Ernesto Alterio,...
A cutting corporate satire from Spain, based on a famous play by Jordi Galceran, it features seven job applicants who turn up for an interview and fin... Read more
The Milk of Sorrow (2010)
6.7/10
Director: Claudia llosa
Starring: Susi Sanchez, Magaly Solier, Delci Heredia
'La teta asustada' The rape of her late mother during the Peruvian civil wars of the 1980s causes Fausta (Magaly Solier) to fear the effects of a terr... Read more
The Nameless (1999)
5.9/10
Director: Jaume Balaguero
Starring: Emma Vilarasau, Karra Elejalde, Tristan Ulloa
Aka "Los Sin Nombre". A young girl is brutally murdered. Five years later, just when her mother is coming to terms with the tragedy, a telephone call... Read more
The Night of the Sunflowers (2006)
7.1/10
Director: Jorge Sánchez-Cabezudo
Starring: Carmelo Gomez, Celso Bugallo
The discovery of a young woman's dead body in the middle of a sunflower field near a quiet village will lead to a tragic string of events, and a vicio... Read more
The Orphanage (2007)
7.5/10
Director: Juan Antonio Bayona
Starring: Belen Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Geraldine Chaplin, Roger Princep, Mabel Rivera
A gothic chiller featuring a woman returning to the now-closed orphanage where she was raised. Laura and her husband plan to reopen it as a home for d... Read more