Torremolinos 73 (2003)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Pablo Berger

Writer:

Pablo Berger (writer)

Release Date:

30 April 2003 (Spain)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Set in 1973 Spain, a struggling encyclopedia salesman and his wife take advantage of an offer to make adult films. The act turns him into an aspring legit filmmaker and her into an international sex symbol.

Plot Keywords:

Encyclopedia | Salesman | Publishing | Baby | Ingmar Bergman

Awards:

14 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Javier Cámara	...	Alfredo
Candela Peña	...	Carmen
Juan Diego	...	Don Carlos
Fernando Tejero	...	Juan Luis
Mads Mikkelsen	...	Magnus
Malena Alterio	...	Vanessa
Ramón Barea	...	José Carlos Romerales
Tom Jacobsen	...	Erik
Mari-Anne Jespersen	...	Frida
Bjarne Henriksen	...	Lauritz
Nuria González	...	Señora de Romerales
Mariví Bilbao	...	Señora de Anasagasti
Germán Montaner	...	Sr. Anasagasti
Jaime Blanch	...	Ginecólogo
Máximo Valverde	...	Himself

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

Spain | Denmark

Language:

Spanish | Danish

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Brazil:16 | Taiwan:R-18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Germany:12 | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:16 | Denmark:11 | Ireland:16 | Israel:16 | Norway:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | USA:Unrated

Company:

Estudios Picasso

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The type of Kodachrome cartridge we see cannot have existed at the time of action: only since the end of the 1990s did European Kodachrome cartridges have their serial number printed on the label with black ink, prior to that the serial number was dry-stamped on the label.

Movie Connections:

References Lo verde empieza en los Pirineos (1973)

Soundtrack:

Carmen

not just funny

My wife is kinda obsessed with non-American filmography and she insists on watching every non-American movie on a theater near us. Well, I can't say I am a fan of Hollyweird myself - on the contrary - but I like the independents and on occasion I can even rent a blockbuster for a couple of popcorn hours at home.

So, she dragged me (almost literally) to said theater to watch "a Spanish comedy". She's an avid Almodovar fan (I am not) and so gets pretty much excited over Spanish films.

We went into the theater along with 15 (yes, fifteen) other spectators... not much of an atmosphere, huh? I was not fairly predisposed towards the film, to say the least.

After the two hours have passed, though, I was in love with this little gem! Torremolinos '73 is a very smart film, and has lots to give to any open-minded person, especially if said person has a decent knowledge of Bergman's films.

The first part is extremely funny. Especially the scenes with the couple shooting the ...educating movies, are hilarious. Irony is all over the place, subtle references to Frankist Spain are obvious to those who know what they should look about, but everything serves the purpose to have a good laugh, even if you have to actually think about the film to do so.

The second part is not as funny, but I almost wet myself while the aspiring director Bergman-wannabe shoots a number of scenes with his utterly talent-less wife, imitating every last cadre of a Bergman film! To sum this up: If you are not annoyed by ample nudity (I have to say this since IMDb is also accessed by... ahem... cultures not quite fond of nudity), you like witty (the Spanish way) humor and you are a bit of a Bergman-geek (does such an animal even exist???) you are going to adore Torremolinos '73, as I did.

Probably the best comedy (by far...) I watched this summer.