The Hold-Up (2001)
"El palo" (original title)

Lola's a single mom, broke, working as a janitor and maid. Silvia is pregnant, and her lover (her boss) won't leave his wife. Maite, newly a widow, discovers she's penniless but wants to ... See full summary »

Director:

Eva Lesmes

Writer:

Luis Marías

Stars:

Adriana Ozores, Malena Alterio, Maribel Verdú

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adriana Ozores	...	Lola
Malena Alterio	...	Violeta "Pecholata"
Maribel Verdú	...	Silvia
Carmen Maura	...	Maite
Juan Gea	...	Director
Jaime Pujol	...	Gustavo
Joaquín Climent	...	Enrique
Antònia Martínez	...	Abuela
Alejandro Sigüenza	...	Daniel
Omar Muñoz	...	Felipe
Pep Guinyol	...	Cajero
Francisco Casares	...	Inspectór Policía (as Paco Casares)
Chelo Vivares	...	Monja
Diana Palazón	...	Luisa
Lina Mira	...	Vanessa

Storyline

Lola's a single mom, broke, working as a janitor and maid. Silvia is pregnant, and her lover (her boss) won't leave his wife. Maite, newly a widow, discovers she's penniless but wants to maintain appearances and give her daughter a fancy wedding, and Pecholata, a punk kid living in a youth center, will soon be turned out on the streets. Lola, who cleans a bank every morning, decides to rob it, convincing the others to join her: they'll use replica guns, dress as men, take Silvia hostage, and all will be smooth. But things go awry, including the fact that Lola's ex, Gustavo, is a cop. Desperation may be the mother of invention - and a corrupt bank manager its father.

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Plot Keywords:

bank | cop | unlikely criminal | heist | pregnant woman | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

4 May 2001 (Spain)

Also Known As:

The Hold-Up

Box Office

Gross:

ESP 93,369,929 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bocaboca Producciones, Canal+ España, Telecinco

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min 87 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"De amor ya no se muere (Non si puo morire dentro)"
By Giancarlo Bigazzi (as G. Bigazzi) and Gianni Bella (as G. Bella)

User Reviews

Classy entertainment with a dollop of seventies ideology.

The women's movement catches up with Spanish movies belatedly with this accomplished 'scope caper comedy. Compare the also female oriented "Nosotros." . Four variously oppressed females band together to do a bank job which keeps on going wrong. The separated cop husband's pistol getting switched with the toy replica is a particularly nice touch.

The usually elegant Verdu gives the impression of enjoying being transformed into a ditsy, pregnant hairdresser but each of the leads gets a great innings. The men are all caricatures.

The big screen vista shots of suburban sprawl punctuate the action nicely. The technical work is as good as anything we see and underlines the excellence of new Spanish entertainment movies.