La spagnola (2001)

Director:

Steve Jacobs

Writer:

Anna Maria Monticelli (writer)

Release Date:

20 September 2001 (Australia)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Lola, a hot-blooded Spaniard, is deserted by her husband for a cool and calculating Aussie blonde. Lola...

Plot Keywords:

Black Comedy

Awards:

4 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Lola Marceli	...	Lola
Alice Ansara	...	Lucia
Lourdes Bartolomé	...	Manola
Silvio Ofria	...	Bruno
Simon Palomares	...	Ricardo
Helen Thomson	...	Wendy
Gabriella Maselli	...	Maria
Alex Dimitriades	...	Stefano
Armida Croccola	...	Maria's Mother
Steve Rodgers	...	Teacher
Tony Barry	...	Doctor
Bogdan Koca	...	Polish Patient
Nino La Giudice	...	Renato
John Barresi	...	Antonio
Nico Gazzana	...	Italian patient

Also Known As:

The Spanish Woman (Australia) (TV title)

Runtime:

87 min | Spain:96 min | UK:90 min | Argentina:92 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

Spanish | English | Italian

Color:

Color

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:M | France:U | Spain:13 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Caltex Refinery, Kurnell, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Wild Strawberries

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Manola uses plastic cling film to wrap a cucumber as she prepares the meal. However, cling film was not introduced into Australia until 1966 by GLAD and the film is set in 1960.

2.5 stars

Lucía is a 14-year-old girl living in Australia with her beautiful Spanish mother, Lola (the title refers to her and means "Spanish woman"), while her Italian father (named Ricardo) has run off with an Australian woman. Lola is a woman of fiery emotions, which she demonstrates very quickly by throwing herself on top of and then in front of the car as Ricardo attempts to drive off. She wants him back, or at least for him to pay her bills, and failing that she wants revenge. Lucía would just like a normal family and to spend time with the family chickens and the goat named Elvis.

That barely gives a hint of the flavor of the film, which is *very* quirky, often darkly humorous, and sometimes dramatic. I enjoyed individual bits (Lourdes Bartolomé steals the scenes she's in as Lucía's aunt Manola), but on the whole it didn't really work for me. Still, there's enough here to give it a mild recommendation.

This was Australia's nomination for the best foreign language film of 2001, which is an interesting concept in that Australia is an English speaking country, but this is in fact a foreign language film. It is currently playing in Europe, but the director (who was at the San Francisco International Film Festival screening where I saw it on 5/1/2002 to introduce it but not for questions) does not expect it to get distribution in the U.S.