Rating: 
Summary: Lusty & Innocent Fun
Review: This movie is unequivocably recommended. The themes are mature and the subtitles use the most common of language. Fortunately the subtitles don't translate the most common of those words as often as they're said in this delightful Spanish farce. The movie is meaningless, but very funny and very entertaining with lots to recommend it.The movie has excellent character development, charming and humorous dialogues, lovely cinematography and an overall attractiveness. The male lead has led an innocent existence in which he spent some time in a seminary, and then has deserted from the army. Now when he meets the four daughters of a libertine aging artist who has befriended him, he wants to make up for lost time. The older three daughters use him for their forbidden pleasures, and don't take the encounters seriously. Being unsophisticated, he falls in love with each until the next one seduces him. He doesn't realize until almost too late, that the youngest actually loves him, although I can't see what qualities he has except for his looks. Oh, that's right, he cooks better than anyone in the family. The costume celebration and its aftermath is one of the most hilarious I've seen in a movie regardless of language. I'm sure there were social messages that without knowledge of Spanish customs and history, were not apparent. There seemed to be a strong association with death. The side story of the young man who is infatuated with the second daughter but can't break away from his mother or tradition, until his frustration causes him to falsely renounce everything his mother stands for, probably symbolizes certain hypocrises in Spain at that point in history as it tried to break away from a moonarchy but couldn't make up its mind. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Bawdy and Sexy Spanish Comedy!
Review: This is an entertaining romantic comedy. It is funny, sexy, saucy and inventive spanish film. The movie never gets heavy, it manages to be a light, fluff of a comedy with an excellent premise (4 beautiful women, every man's dream!). If you liked this movie I recommend 'Cinema Pardiso', 'Il Postino' or 'Like Water For Chocolate'. From a scale of 1-10 I give this movie a 7!
Rating: 
Summary: S. Maes
Review: This is a wonderfully fun, well-directed and acted film about the antics of a handsome young man and 4 tantalizing seductresses. Although the setting takes place in the 1930's, it is an ageless tale of youth and romance.
Rating:
Summary: Elegant, funny, sexy, sophisticated, and very "French-like"
Review: Belle Epoque reminds of a traditional French-style cinema, just like the title itself. It is a story of basically decent, but very confused young man (incredibly cute one, too), whose only concern is how to survive amidst the chaos of Spanish Civil War. The film begins with this young man, Fernando, almost being killed, but it ends with him being very much alive and happy. In the process, Fernando meets a lot of new people: an old man, Manolo, and his unconventional family, to say the least. The relationship between Manolo and Fernando takes a special place in the story, along with Fernando's amorous interest in Manolo's daughter(s). Apart from love and youth, Belle Epoque is also looking at Spain's historical background and hypocritical nature of society during the Great Spanish Civil War. Overall, Belle Epoque is both visually appealing and very philosophical, at the same time. It is a real masterpiece.
Rating:
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:
Summary: Belle Epoque, Beau Film
Review: Belle Epoque is a beautifully rendered film with a good sense of humor and a well-paced plot. Unlike what a previous reviewer wrote, it is actually set in the years PRECEDING the Spanish Civil War, that is, when a republic was established after the abdication of Alfonso XIII in 1931. The debate between Monarchism and Carlism versus Republicanism and Anarchism -a split in Spanish society that would culminate in the outbreak of the Civil War in 1936- is made accessible as expressed by the colorful characters in this movie: the pampered mollycoddle Juanito, the irreverent priest, the artist-patriarch (who nevertheless lives like a "scared old bourgeois"). The Civil War of the 1936-39 was only the last of the many civil wars that erupted in Spain during the modern era (e.g. the Carlist Wars of the Nineteenth Century). The movie will throw light on this turbulent time as it affected ordinary people, and for those of you not squeamish about the idea of a man sleeping with four beautiful women in the course of a few days, I recommend this movie highly. "Belle Epoque" is NOT fluff or late-night soft porn; it is only disguising its gravity behind a façade of lightheartedness.
Rating: 
Summary: more here than fluff
Review: Bottom line (or top line if you prefer):This movie is not a waste of your time. It is about a young man deserting the military towards the end of the Spanish Civil War. On the surface level, you won't find anything really outstanding here, just a guy who is taken in by a stranger and decides to stay on after meeting his four very very lovely daughters. Each, in turn, seduce and confuse the poor boy. This level alone is fun. However, the dialog between the two guards at the begining set the tone of social commentary. If you know anything about the Spanish Civil War you will find that each of the daughters represent also the four main factions of the war. Watch deeper and pay attention to the social and historical events that were taking place in the time setting of the movie, you will understand the film's muted anti-war commentary and why it won the '92 Oscar. If you don't really care about all that bookish stuff it is still a funny and sexy film about finding the right girl. Bottom line: this movie won't waste your time.
Rating:
Summary: See young penelope cruz work her magic...
Review: Gomez brings the audience characters you fall in love with...
If you liked "water for chocolate" and "women on the verge of a nervous breakdown" or even "woman on top"- you'll enjoy this!
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, but...
Review: This is a very good and funny movie full of loveable characters. I would recommend everyone see it but I don't believe the jokes will translate very well into english.
Rating:
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.
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