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Belle Epoque

Belle Epoque

List Price: $29.95
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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Entertaining
Review: I am a huge fan of Spanish films, and this one is very good. It has some of my favorite Spanish actors, and their performances do not disappoint. Although it is set during the Civil War, it really has more to do with day to day life. I'm a real sucker for Romances, so predictability does not diminish my enjoyment of this movie; however, it might bother others. Even if the predictability of the romance story is bothersome, there are many other aspects of the movie that make it great. The relationship of the sisters to their parents, the relationship of the parents, the interesting characterization, etc. I would give this movie five stars if it were American, but I guess I just have a higher standard for Spanish film. The movie disappointed me slightly, but I must stress that I really have very high expectations for Spanish film.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Funny and sexy, but also has substance
Review: I disagree with the Amazon editorial. Yes, this is a funny, sexy movie; maybe a young man's dream come true. It also has a lot of real commentary on Spanish society at the time; right before the Spanish Civil War. The characters end the movie thinking all is well in the world and don't know the Civil War is right around the corner. I am sure this aspect is lost on most American audiences, but it is a very real part of the film and juxtaposes the light, sexy, comic aspects of this movie. The scene where the priest hangs himself in the church right before the young couple get married is very symbolic of how the church felt at this time of liberalization and the backlash that led to the Civil War (1930s). See the movie! It is one of my all-time favorites.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A funny, clever, sexy, beautiful film.
Review: I loved this movie! It was funny, beautiful, and had great characters and sparkling dialouge. Jorge Sanz is gorgeous and all girls are funny and well drawn. Beautifully filmed, sentiments not laid on with a trowel, thank God!! Sexy, but not gross. Ending not VERY surprising, but a couple of good twists. Excellent acting by all, several hilarious elements. A few slow parts, but all in all, a great movie. Actually, I only wish I could give it four and a half stars instead.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Funny
Review: I recently watched this movie and I believe it is the best Spanish movie I have seen. I would not call this fluff, not only was the movie hilarious, it also presented quite a lot of insight into Spanish history and had a really good cast of characters. Jorge Sanz manages to give the lead character a mixture of vulnerability and manliness that is just irresistible, you can see why all the sisters are falling head over heels for him. Ariadna Gil gives a great performance as gender-confused Violeta, I thought she acted just like a man. Juanito and his mother, the comic relief characters, were just hilarious. Can't go wrong with this one.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Little Conan grows up! And gets laid a lot, I see....
Review: OK, I've actually never seen this movie, but I give it 5 stars anyway just for its great reputation and the presence of its star actor, Jorge Sanz.

You see, I'm actually a huge fan of the movie "Conan the Barbarian", which was filmed in Spain, and so had several Spanish and European actors/actresses.

I got to wondering one day about what happened to the cute little boy who played Conan as a small child in that movie. In the fabulous Opening Sequence of "Conan the Barbarian", little Conan gets to see his village wiped out by Thulsa Doom's thugs, and then watches as his mother is beheaded by Thulsa Doom as she holds on tightly to his little hand. Then little Conan is marched off to slavery....

The Commentaries from John Milius and Arnold Schwarzeneggar sparked my interest:

Arnold: Does the kid wear lipstick, or what is that? (commenting on little Conan's red lips)

Milius: Naw! that's just a kid!

Arnold: That's funny

Milius: ....that was a tough kid, I remember that....

Thanks to Amazon.com's thorough website linkages, it took just a couple of mouse clicks to find out what happened to little Conan....

...and so here he is, living it up with four beautiful young women in pre-civil War Spain!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great comedy with serious undertones
Review: One of my favourite films - funny and touching at the same time. This film gives an insight into the Spanish psyche, surreal and macho, yet manages to laugh about itself. The protagonists are beautiful and convincing. I chuckled all the way through, and would strongly recommend to see the subtitled version, as the dubbed version loses a lot of the feel of the film - one does not need to speak Spanish to appreciate the language.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I love this movie!
Review: Rarely will I view a movie more than once. I've seen this one twice now. Anyone who has been to Spain will see the character and spirit of the Spanish represented by the personalities of the four beautiful sisters, their father, mother, and of course the deserter from the army. The opening scene with the two Civil Guardia definitely makes a statement about the mind-set in Spain of 1931. Trueba brings it all together to give us this wonderfully humorous, sexy, interesting, and altogether pleasing film. Muchas gracias Fernando! Bravo, cinco estrellas!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent, totally enjoyable
Review: The english subtitles do little to detract from the pleasure of viewing this fabulous comedy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderful Spanish film
Review: The story line for this film is not anything extraordinary but the actors/actresses weave a wonder web of mayhem and love that pervades through the simple story line to make this a timeless classic. It is also interesting how Trueba uses role reversal to turn the tables on poor Fernando and throws him into a matriarchal setting where the men AREN'T the ones wearing the pants in the family....quite literally in one sense. Overall a great movie that I have seen time and again...Great Castillan spanish accents as well!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Amourous portrayel of Spanish politics
Review: This film is a sly comment of politics in Spain. It was made just after Juan Carlos freed the country from Franco's fascism. On the surface in may seem plotless, but each young lady is representative of a type of governmet, Fernado is the people of Spain, and Manolo the spirit of progress. Much better if you speak Spanish, but delightful for the Anglophone interested in European politics. A real intellectual treat, not for light viewing.


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