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.
Mysteries of Lisbon (2010)
7.5/10
Director: Raoul Ruiz
Starring: Melvil Poupaud, Clotilde Hesme, Lea Seydoux, Adriano Luz, Maria Joao Bastos, Ric...
Raul Ruiz's masterful adaptation of the eponymous nineteenth-century Portuguese novel by Camilo Castelo Branco evokes the complex intertwined narrativ... Read more
Kidnapped (2010)
6.4/10
Director: Miguel Angel Vivas
Starring: Ana Wagener, Fernando Cayo, Manuela Velles
The most astounding and uncompromising film of the year, Miguel Angel Vivas " Kidnapped" is a masterpiece of tension and all-too-realistic violence. J... 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
Biutiful (2010)
7.5/10
Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Starring: Javier Bardem
Javier Bardem gives a powerful performance in director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's ("21 Grams") stirring drama about a small-time Barcelona criminal... 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
Me Too (2010)
7.2/10
Director: Alvaro Pastor, Antonio Naharro
Starring: Lola Duenas, Pablo Pineda
"Yo, Tambien" This sensitive and moving Spanish drama concerns Daniel (Pablo Pineda), a young man with Down's syndrome who has recently graduated from... Read more
Room in Rome (2010)
6.2/10
Director: Julio Medem
Starring: Enrico Lo Verso, Elena Anaya, Natasha Yarovenko
A sensual two-handed drama from Spanish writer-director Julio Medem ('Sex and Lucia'), 'Room in Rome' charts a one night stand that develops into some... Read more
Eccentricities of a Blond-Haired Girl (2009)
Director: Manoel De Oliveira
Starring: Cararina Wallenstein, Ricardo Trepa
This lyrical drama delivered by centenarian director Manoel de Oliveira takes its narrative cues from a 19th-century short story from Portuguese write... Read more
Camino (2009)
6.7/10
Director: Javier Fesser
Starring: Carme Elias, Nerea Camacho
Writer/director Javier Fesser has based his film on the case of Alexia Gonzalez-Barros, a devoutly Catholic Spanish girl whose exemplary hospital deat... Read more
Broken Embraces (2009)
7.2/10
Director: Pedro Almodovar
Starring: Penelope Cruz, Jose Luis Gomez, Tamar Novas, Blanca Portillo, Lluis Homar, Ruben...
Pedro Almodovar's acclaimed tale of sex, secrets and cinema centers on Mateo Blanco (Lluis Homar), a blind writer and filmmaker who now goes by the mo... Read more