7/10
Pleasant and decent Spanish comedy along with some drama elements , being efficiently directed by expert comedian director Fernando Colomo
28 February 2015
Spanish Dramedy (Drama and comedy) set in the 20s with emotion , humor , fun , amusing situations and nice players . In 1919 , a drifter as well as novice writer , Gerald Brenann, a Brit young of noble family arrives in Yegen, a village in Alpujarras from Granada province . There he meets some villagers and then rents a house for a year . Gerard is a writer and poet and has a few money as well as a love of reading and writing . His objective is loneliness and writing , having a lot of books as only company . He's soon the center of attention from his maid , María (Trujillo) , who has a marriageable daughter , Angeles (Bebe); from Paco (Guillermo Toledo) , a man who decides to guide Gerald in the ways of the village and of love ; from the village's priest (Antonio Resines) , his hidden lover (Angela Molina) , her friend who loves St. Teresa , and , from Juliana (Veronica Sanchez) , a gorgeous adolescent who baths nude herself by the river .

This comedy/drama contains a romantic love story , social habits , humor , entertainment and including some nudism with strong love scenes . This is a slightly funny film with entertaining events , giggles , emotion , an enjoyable love story and touching scenes at its final part . The film moves in fits and starts most of which would be desirable , with more traps the viewer resists any kind, and some moments of enjoyment and others quite a few embarrassing with some absurdities and implausibilities . The flick gives a short description about rural lives of low-classes in the twenties . This is a typical Spanish comedy from the 2000s with the usual ingredients such as agreeable humor , villagers customs , relationships among people . The roles in this film are all lovable despite being rather pathetic and unfortunate . Our starring Gerald must sort out his feelings and face down the machinations of the village's women , who map a future he doesn't want . The picture also explores the complex relationship among known Brit artists such as Ralph Partridge (Laurence Fox) , Dora Carrington (Jessica Kate Meyer) , Lytton Strachey (James Fleet) , issue formerly dealt in the film ¨Carrington¨ . The flick attempts to spread optimism about the events of life , friendship and love , with its amusing sides but also including some risks . The film deals with the relationship between Spanish and Anglo Saxon youth , including language problems , a topic also treated by the director in other films such as ¨Linea Del Cielo¨ , ¨Efecto Mariposa¨ and ¨Los Años Barbaros ¨ . Sympathetic performances from protagonist duo who provides a considerable boost to the result , such as Matthew Goode as the subsequent famous author Gerald Brennan and Veronica Sanchez , a teen beauty who's the daughter of a witch . Likable support cast gives good acting such as Guillermo Toledo , Bebe , Consuelo Trujillo , Mariano Peña , Ángela Molina , Mariana Cordero , Antonio Resines , among others . A well acted, so so crafted, movie that should be considered as a return in form to the typical Spanish comedy of yesteryear . The picture achieved Goya prizes for Best Original Score , Juan Bardem , and nominated for Best Production Supervision Goya Best New Actress , Verónica Sánchez , and Best Cinematography , José Luis Alcaine and Best Special Effects , Reyes Abades.

Atmospheric and appropriate musical score by the notorious Juan Bardem , a magnificent composer who has composed a lot of films . Furthermore , a colorful and evocative cinematography by Jose Luis Alcaine who was first cinematographer to use fluorescent tube as "key" lightning and deemed to be one of the best Spanish cameramen . Alcaine frequently works with Pedro Almodóvar , Bigas Luna and Vicente Aranda , as he has photographed ¨The skin I live in¨ , The bad education¨ , ¨Volver¨ , ¨Women in the verge of a nervous breakdown¨, among others . Here he shows splendidly the impressive landscapes from Alpujarras . The motion picture was professionally written and directed Fernando Colomo . Fernando Colomo was born in Madrid and is a talented and versatile writer/director who has made a vast array of often solid and entertaining films in all kind of genres as comedy, drama and one science fiction movie (1985 El caballero del Dragón) in a career that spans over 30 years . Especially known for directing comedies such as 1987 La Vida Alegre , 1988 Miss Caribe , 1989 Bajarse al Moro , 1993 Rosa Rosae , 1994 Alegre Ma Non Troppo , 1995 Efecto Mariposa . And in the 2000s directed Al Sur Granada (2003) , El Próximo Oriente (2006), Rivales (2008) and La Banda Picasso (2012) .
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