garp_emiliano

This film has no glamour, no beautiful smile, no relief from everyday life: it's real.

Leo (it's the girl: Leonor on baptism) and Salva (Salvador=saviour) meet on a industrial zone near Madrid. She's collecting cardboard and he works as private guardian. Tough Leo sees him as a good man and will let him enter in her past life with a martial arts master. The film ends abruptlly, on a friend's wedding dance, of course, but still with a knife to remind us of the restrained but real violence on this film. Director and writer Borau keeps the rhythm masterly as usual, I think even that this film represents the peak of his writing talent: there's no scene lacked so we are the witness of the complexity inherent of what we tought were so ordinary life. The depths of Leo's character are shown in a subtle crescendo, like a whirlwind that traps her Salva-Saviour friend.

Icíar Bollain (unforgetable debut at "El sur": one of top spanish movies) makes enigmatic Leo a class of restrained acting, without losing her strong appeal. The male lead actor, Javier Batanero, makes here his first appearance on screen, with a career of songwriter (famous "Pacto de caballeros", with Joaquín Sabina), member of "Académica Palanca" (a group of intelligent humour, comparable to "Les Luthiers" one of their records is called "The mistery of vulgar voices") and solo singer. Also practically debutant is musician Álvaro de Cárdenas, who makes a score that perfectly fits the tragic history without emphasizing. It's symptomatic for Burau's work, a real patriarc in Spanish film industry, to choose unexperienced people (besides his long time friend Icíar) to make real a film so extraordinary, so daring, so moving as this "Leo".

Note for award curious: produced (and almost financed) by Borau himself, the film, despite his awful commercial career (sadly clearly expected so), were recognized with the most important nominations for Spanish Academy Film award: the "Goya": best film, director (he won) and writing, best actress, best revelation actor and best movie editing. Also won the best music at Málaga Film Festival.

It's a deception: maybe the worst (with "Bambola") of director Luna: solemn and inaccurated, the ever greater Aitana Sánchez Gijón was booh-ed receiving her award at San Sebastian Festival, 'cause the spaniard critics really went angry on that film. Almost located entirely on dark locations (except the first scene: a bizarre catholic procession in supposed Cádiz fields) is a really boring film about the mistery of Duquesa de Alba's death. The casting election of good cuban actor Perugorría (also in "Bambola") is possibly the only daring and interesting aspect of the film, being really a strange voice for "Pancho" (as called by Cayetana) Goya... who only paints "La Maja" on film. Jordi Mollá as powerful "Prince of Peace" Godoy is clearly undeveloped here, while Penélope Cruz shows limitated as always. Last point: the generous sexual scenes, as expected on Luna, includes a fetichist one on beautiful Aitana's feet.

Great poetic film about ordinary life and one-night romance that will last forever, even when it's not real at all!. A superb casting, a Bigas Luna dominating the slow pace, even through the many changes of the story.