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.
[ Rec ] 2 (2009)
6.5/10
Director: Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza
Starring: Jonathan Mellor, Manuela Velasco, Oscar Zafra, Ariel Casas
Picking up from where the previous movie finished, only a few minutes have passed since the authorities lost contact with the people trapped inside th... Read more
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
7.1/10
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Patricia Clarkso...
Set in the titular Spanish city, Woody Allen's romantic drama features the new Allen favourite Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall as American tourist... 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
Boystown (2007)
6.1/10
Director: Juan Flahn
Starring: Carlos Fuentes, Pablo Puyol, Concha Velasco, Pepon Nieto
Victor has a goal; he wants to turn the Chueca neighbourhood into a real estate paradise for hot-blooded gay couples. He'll do anything to make that h... Read more
Suso's Tower (2007)
Director: Tom Fernandez
Starring: Javier Camara
Having moved to Argentina years earlier to seek a new life, Cundo is forced to return to his hometown in Northern Spain after the death of his childho... Read more
Timecrimes (2007)
7.2/10
Director: Nacho Vigalondo
Starring: Karra Elejalde, Candela Fernandez, Barbara Goenaga, Nacho Vigalondo, Juan Inciar...
Aka "Los Cronocrimenes". Fiendishly clever and stylishly crafted, this low-budget Spanish sci-fi thriller ably demonstrates the value of a great idea... Read more
Chaotic Ana (2007)
6.4/10
Director: Julio Medem
Starring: Manuela Velles, Charlotte Rampling, Bebe , Asier Newman, Nicolas Cazale
Ana (Manuela Velles) is an innocent, living a sheltered existence as an artist in an Ibizan cave with her father; but when Justine (Charlotte Rampling... 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
Fermat's Room (2007)
6.7/10
Director: Luis Piedrahita, Rodrigo Sopena
Starring: Lluis Homar, Alejo Saurus, Elena Ballesteros, Santi Millan, Federico Luppi, Hele...
A mind-bending Spanish thriller in which four mathematicians who have never met are gathered together on the pretext of solving some great mathematica... Read more
[ Rec ] (2007)
7.5/10
Director: Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza
Starring: Ferran Terraza, Manuela Velasco, David Vert
A barnstorming, cinema verite horror experience that pulls few punches, fears no genre taboo, and reaches for the throat. While filming segments for a... Read more