By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Pablo Berger
Starring: Candela Peña | Fernando Tejero | Javier Cámara | Juan Diego | Mads Mikkelsen | Malena Alterio | Ramón Barea
Country: denmark, spain
Year: 2005
Running time: 87
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0339806/combined
Hilary says: “Struggling door-to-door encyclopedia salesman Alfredo’s (Javier Camara, TALK TO HER, BAD EDUCATION) boss, Don Carlos (Juan Diego), offers him a choice: participate in a series of ‘educational’ films the encyclopedia company will be producing for their Scandinavian market, or lose his job.
“Alfredo and his wife Carmen (Candela Peqa, ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER) are initially reticent to participate, but the allure of 50 thousand pesetas per film wins out. After a seminar from Danish instructors Erik (Tom Jacobsen) and Frida (Mari-Anne Jespersen), Alfredo and Carmen embark on their first project.
“The film is a hit and Carmen, encouraged by her husband and the realization that with more money they will be able to afford a family, agrees to make more films. Meanwhile Alfredo aspires to loftier artistic goals, armed with his Super 8 camera and director’s megaphone emblazoned with the name ‘Bergman,’ gifted to him by Erik who claims to have worked on several of the Swedish auteur’s films.
“The sum of TORREMOLINOS 73 is not quite equal to its parts, but solid performances from the leads, a humorous homage to Bergman, and the perfect beige-y ’70s color palette recommend this charming comedy. Plus, there is something quite amusing about hearing Spanish spoken with a Danish accent.
“Nominations for Peqa and Camara. For those of you who saw TALK TO HER and BAD EDUCATION, Camara is barely recognizable as the balding husband in frumpy polyester clothes. 4 cats”
Chris says: “This fun, often hilarious film unites two Spanish actors best known on these shores for roles in Almodovar pictures: Javier Camara (the nurse in TALK TO HER) and Candela Pena (Nina in ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER). Together they are a loving couple stuck in dead end jobs as, respectively, a door-to-door salesman and a beautician’s assistant. Then, Camara is given the opportunity to either make erotic films with his wife that will be sold in the Scandinavian countries (under the cover of being false ‘audio-visual encyclopedias about reproduction’) or lose his job. After a rough start, Pena becomes an international sex symbol and Camara evolves into an unlikely auteur, penning a letter-perfect arty Ingmar Bergman homage that gives this film its title. Director Pablo Berger revels in plenty of Almodovarian absurd, deadpan humor, not to mention a bountiful display of early ‘70s color schemes and Spanish pop songs, but he does so with a lithe touch (especially in Pena’s desire to have a child) that makes for a winning combination. 4 cats”