User reviews

In Madrid, Antonio Lopez (Antonio Banderas) is a Spanish mechanic coming back to his country after working for five years in Volkswagen, in Germany. He saved some money to raise a small business and get married with his fiancé, in a small Spanish town. While waiting for his bus, Antonio sees a woman being stabbed by a man in a motorcycle and tries to help her. However, the man escapes, the woman dies and the waiter of the cafeteria where Antonio was making a phone call believes he was the killer. Antonio leaves his suitcases in the cafeteria and runs to a building, where Marisa (Carmen Maura) believes he wants to rent the apartment above hers. On the next day, she realizes he is chased for murder, but she decides to help him. Her husband does not supply her needs in bed, and Antonio becomes her lover along the weekdays. In the weekends, he stays alone for sixty hours, from Friday night to Monday morning. Meanwhile, the police find the real killer, but Marisa does not tell Antonio, who starts reading lots of books and magazines and writing a book for killing time. The book is supposed to be written by Marisa, under the pseudonym of Antonio Castro, and becomes a successful bestseller. Marisa does not tell Antonio and becomes famous, when many ironical situations happen. The first part of this story is really funny, when the character of Antonio Banderas believes the police want to catch him for murderer and Marisa cheats her husband. The situations of the cuckold are hilarious. The second part loses the rhythm, but anyway this comedy is a very worthwhile entertainment. In Brazil, it was released on VHS, with the name 'Casos da Vida Privada: A Mulher Feliz' (` Cases of the Private Life: The Happy Woman') together with a second episode, `La Mujer Oriental' (`The Oriental Woman'). My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): 'Casos da Vida Privada: A Mulher Feliz' (` Cases of the Private Life: The Happy Woman')