Los novios búlgaros (2003)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Eloy de la Iglesia

Writers:

Fernando Guillén Cuervo (writer)
Antonio Hens (writer)

Release Date:

30 April 2003 (Spain)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Beware of love in radioactive packages"

Plot:

A straight-laced Spanish man falls in love with a young foreigner. |

Plot Keywords:

Love | Gay For Pay | Tango | Illegal Immigrant | Piercing

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Fernando Guillén Cuervo	...	Daniel
Dritan Biba	...	Kyril
Pepón Nieto	...	Gildo
Roger Pera	...	Lawyer
Anita Sinkovic	...	Kalina
Fernando Albizu	...	Mogambo
Roman Luknár	...	Simeon (as Román Lucknar)
Simón Andreu	...	Padre de Daniel
Julia Martínez	...	Daniel's Mother
Gracia Olayo	...	Rosita
Emma Penella	...	Remedios
Aure Sánchez	...	Bambi
Shai Bercovich	...	Vladimir
Alberto Lozano	...	Taxista
Óscar Iniesta	...	Emil

Also Known As:

Bulgarian Lovers (International: English title) (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic nudity, strong sexual content, language and some drug use.

Runtime:

Germany:101 min (Berlin Film Festival) | USA:101 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish | Bulgarian | English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Spain:13 | Netherlands:16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Company:

Altube Filmeak S.L.

Quotes:

Daniel: I'd give my life for you.
Kyril: I'd give your life for me too.

Marie Cones

The end of Communism in Eastern Europe has opened the borders from the old satellite states allowing the young people to go to neighboring countries. In most cases these voluntary exiles cannot speak the language, not even find a job that is not menial, at best. The end result is that, in most cases, these young men and women, living illegally in Europe, turn to prostitution because it's the simplest job they can perform without the proper working papers.

This is the basis for Eloy de la Iglesia's film. It appears, that the star, Fernando Guillen Cuervo, who plays Daniel, the yuppie architect, contributed to the screen play. Perhaps the director of the film is asking us: who is the exploiter, and who is exploited. Somehow the Eastern Europeans have a way to live well by entering into love affairs with gay men, as in the case of these Bulgarian types in the film.

In this story, Daniel ends up paying for his lover, Kyril's wedding to Kalina, his girlfriend from Bulgaria. One would suspect that in most cases these upwardly mobile Spaniards end up as victims themselves because their lack to savvy into seeing a con job in front of their eyes, or maybe they are blinded by the sex they are getting from these exotic types.

Daniel finds out the hard way that Kiryl only wants him because what he can get out of him. Also, as it's the case here, these immigrants have their own agenda and are using the gay men for whatever benefits they can extract from them.

The film is mildly funny.