Jamón, Jamón (1992)

When a mother disapproves of her son's lover, she hires an underwear model and former bullfighter to seduce her away.

Director:

Bigas Luna

Writers:

Cuca Canals, Bigas Luna

Stars:

Penélope Cruz, Stefania Sandrelli, Anna Galiena

6 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stefania Sandrelli	...	Propietaria fabrica ropa
Anna Galiena	...	Prostituta
Juan Diego	...	El padre
Penélope Cruz	...	Silvia
Javier Bardem	...	El chorizo
Jordi Mollà	...	El niñato (as Jordi Molla)
Tomás Martín	...	Amigo Raúl (as Tomás Penco)
Armando del Río	...	Amigo José Luis
Diana Sassen	...	Amiga Silvia
Chema Mazo	...	Padre de Silvia
Isabel de Castro Oros	...	Hermana Silvia
Nazaret Callao	...	Hermana Silvia
Marianne Hermitte	...	La chica del perro en el puticlub
Nadia Godoy	...	La que canta en el puticlub
María Reniu	...	Chica en puticlub

Storyline

Jose Luis is an executive at his parents underwear factory where his girlfriend Sylvia works on the shop floor. When Sylvia falls pregnant, Jose Luis promises her that he will marry her, most likely against the wishes of his parents. Jose Luis' mother is determined to break her son's engagement to a girl from a lower-class family, and hires Raul, a potential underwear model and would-be bullfighter to seduce Sylvia.

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Plot Keywords:

female frontal nudity | male full frontal nudity | underwear | brothel | factory | 

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Taglines:

A dish of a woman

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

February 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Tale of Ham and Passion

Filming Locations:

Fraga, Huesca, Aragón, Spain

Box Office

Gross USA:

$938,473

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lolafilms, Ovídeo TV S.A., Sogepaq

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First part of Bigas Luna's "Iberian Trilogy" also including Huevos de oro and La teta y la luna.

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Crazy Credits

Stefania Sandrelli - la madre puta; Anna Galiena - la puta madre; Penélope Cruz - la hija de puta

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Connections

Featured in Bigas Luna: The entomologist gaze (2008)

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Soundtracks

Házmelo otra vez
Performed by Moncho

User Reviews

Charmingly Offensive

Bigas Luna's most noted work in North America, Jamon Jamon is a film that teeters on offensive, but does so with such sweetness and charm that it is hard to resist.

In a plot that only Luna could bring to life, young, sexy Silvia (Penelope Cruz) is engaged to and pregnant by Jose Luis, the son of underwear merchants. Silvia is too lower class for Jose Luis' meddling mother, Conchita, so she hires the young, handsome Raul (Javier Bardem) a worker in a ham factory and wannabe underwear model and bull fighter, to romance her away. But the love starved and still sexy Conchita falls for Raul, while Jose Luis frequents the bordello owned by Silvia's mother. Eventually, the two men duke it out in one of the most unique and bizarre fight scenes ever, beating each other with hams.

This is a dark and weird R-rated soap opera, in which every scene is over the top melodrama, and all characters deliver their lines like they were their last. But it works scene after scene, largely due to the directing and casting. For physical appearance, you won't find a better looking cast anywhere.

Jamon Jamon is challenging because it is so unconventional, but is also enjoyable because of its romance and passion. I enjoy Luna movies immensely and highly recommend this film along with the two that follow, Heuvos de Oro and La teta y la Luna. ***1/2 out of ****.