Torremolinos 73 (2003)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Pablo Berger

Writer:

Pablo Berger (writer)

Release Date:

30 April 2003 (Spain)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Set in 1973 Spain, a struggling encyclopedia salesman and his wife take advantage of an offer to make adult films. The act turns him into an aspring legit filmmaker and her into an international sex symbol.

Plot Keywords:

Encyclopedia | Salesman | Publishing | Baby | Ingmar Bergman

Awards:

15 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Javier Cámara	...	Alfredo
Candela Peña	...	Carmen
Juan Diego	...	Don Carlos
Fernando Tejero	...	Juan Luis
Mads Mikkelsen	...	Magnus
Malena Alterio	...	Vanessa
Ramón Barea	...	José Carlos Romerales
Tom Jacobsen	...	Erik
Mari-Anne Jespersen	...	Frida
Bjarne Henriksen	...	Lauritz
Nuria González	...	Señora de Romerales
Mariví Bilbao	...	Señora de Anasagasti
Germán Montaner	...	Sr. Anasagasti
Jaime Blanch	...	Ginecólogo
Máximo Valverde	...	Himself

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

Spain | Denmark

Language:

Spanish | Danish

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Brazil:16 | Taiwan:R-18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Germany:12 | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:16 | Denmark:11 | Ireland:16 | Israel:16 | Norway:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | USA:Unrated

Company:

Estudios Picasso

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The type of Kodachrome cartridge we see cannot have existed at the time of action: only since the end of the 1990s did European Kodachrome cartridges have their serial number printed on the label with black ink, prior to that the serial number was dry-stamped on the label.

Movie Connections:

Features Adiós, cigüeña, adiós (1971)

Soundtrack:

Dancing In the Sun / Un Rayo de Sol

Good fun (for the broadminded) and full of period detail

This Spanish film has recently had a limited UK theatrical release and has garnered lots of good local reviews. But despite being listed by the London Evening Standard as a Top Pick, my companion and I saw it in an otherwise empty cinema! Would the projectionist have gone home had we not been there, we wondered. No matter, we enjoyed this charming film, seemingly made by and for film buffs, from start to finish. Its charm is quite subtle, and I suspect a lot of people might not "get it". We liked the spot on period detail; the great locations (ever visited out-of-the way parts of Spain or Italy?), and the specially faded film colours are an excellent touch. The careful choice of Spanish pop music of the time adds to the atmosphere. And interestingly, there are enough knowing movie references to keep Super 8 fans and art-house buffs happy throughout (two examples being of course the low-budget Bergman remake, and less obviously, the deserted fairground sequence is pure "Carnival Of Souls").

Sure, the plot line might be a little flawed, and the ending does flag a little, as mentioned in other IMDb user reviews, but I really feel people are being harsh. After all, the whole premise of the film is highly unlikely if you want to pick holes. Definitely recommended.