This ¨Una vez al año ser hippy no hace daño¨ (1969) boasts a great Spanish cast : Tony Leblanc, Conchita Velasco, Alfredo Landa, Manolo Gómez Bur . Spanish production set in Torremolinos (Sun Coast) , Málaga , and mixing humor and 60s and 70s' social habits. In a hippy-psychedelic context, José Luis Dibildos produced and co-wrote the script , together with Juan José Alonso Millán for this comedy about the misadventures of a musical trio : ¨Flor de Lis y los de Orinoco¨, adapting to the fashions of the moment. Set in Torremolinos is a seaside resort localed in Málaga , Comunidad Andalucia , where Spanish people and foreigners spend sunny vacation. It deals with Lisarda (Conchita Velasco), Ricardo (Alfredo Landa) and Silvestre (Manolo Gómez Bur) form a musical trio of Latin rhythms whose appeal has been relegated to more modern pop sounds. In Torremolinos they meet Johnny (Tony Leblanc), a worker at a campsite populated by hippy youth After meeting Johnny , the regional artist "Flor de Lis" and her group transform themselves in the famous "Hippy-Loyas" band . Later on , they perfom at a party with plenty of quirky people , gurus and other outlandish characters (José Sazatornil , Laly Soldevilla, Rafael Alonso) .
¨Once-a-year-being-a-hippy-does-not-harm¨(1969) is a film of acceptable humor, with a parody of the basic messages of hippieism and a satire of the gurus and the attraction and in many cases pure snobbery of exotic suggestion by Eastern philosophies . It is full of frivolity , duplicity , and deceits , but turns out to be a mediocre and so-so picture with some sparkles , mayhem and madness enough , being written by Juan José Alonso Millán ("Virilidad a La Española", ¨Historia de una Traición¨ , Marta¨, "La Muerte Ronda a Mónica") and José Luis Dibildos ("The New Spaniards", ¨La Colmena¨, Amor a la Española¨, "Dynamite is Served"). Typical 60s Spanish film with an excellent cast Tony Leblanc who's great in his usual cynical role as a beach playboy and a disco go-go , adding a very refreshing tourist-vacation atmosphere , and the comic tone is sufficiently successful, although there are some pseudo-introspective traits that are beside the point . Here stands out the sympatehtic band ¨Flor de Lis and los dos de Orinoco¨ formed by Concha Velasco along with Alfredo Landa , Manolo Gómez Bur , singing catching songs , especially ¨Mi casita de papel¨by Francisco Codoñer 'Maestro Lito' Lyrics by Mercedes Belenguer ; ¨Frenesí tropical¨ by Adolfo Waitzman Lyrics by Javier Aguirre ; ¨Lisarda¨by Adolfo Waitzman
lyrics by Javier Aguirre ; ¨Los negros con las suecas¨; ¨Love, love, love¨ by Adolfo Waitzman lyrics by Sandra Le Brocq . Made in the style of other summer films concerning the touristic boom in the Mediterranean coast , such as : ¨Pedro Lazaga's Verano 70 (1970)¨, ¨Fernando Merino's Amor-a-la-espanola (1967)¨ , ¨El abominable hombre de la Costa del Sol¨(1970) by Pedro Lazaga, or the subsequent ¨Pedro Lazaga's Tres suecas para tres Rodríguez (1975)¨, containing comedic events , showing typical sunny images in the Sixties and Seventies .
The motion picture was regular but amusingly directed by prolific filmmaker Javier Aguirre (his big hits were El Astronauta , El Jorobado De La Morgue , Monja Alférez) . Javier is a craftsman , expert on comedies such as : ¨El Astronauta¨, ¨Los Que Tocan El Piano¨ , ¨Locuras De Parchis¨ , ¨Los Chicos Con Las Chicas¨, ¨Soltero Y Padre En la Vida¨, ¨Soltera Y Madre En La Vida¨, ¨Rocky Carambola¨, ¨Martes Y Trece¨. Aguirre also made quite a few terror , frightening movies such as : ¨Gran Amor Conde Drácula¨, ¨Jorobado De La Morgue¨, ¨Vida Perra¨, ¨Asesino Está En Sus Trece¨. In addition , he directed various ¨Avant Garde¨ films . Here Aguirre carries out a passable , nimble and professional direction , though including some flaws and gaps . Rating : 5.5/10.
