Golden Balls (1993)

A construction worker uses his charm and bravado in an attempt to attain enough finances to build his dream project.

Director:

Bigas Luna

Writers:

Cuca Canals, Bigas Luna

Stars:

Javier Bardem, Maria de Medeiros, Maribel Verdú

4 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Javier Bardem	...	Benito González
Maria de Medeiros	...	Marta (La mujer, 45 kilos)
Maribel Verdú	...	Claudia (La amante, 52 kilos)
Elisa Tovati	...	Rita (El primer amor, 47 kilos)
Raquel Bianca	...	Ana (La comehombres, ? kilos)
Alessandro Gassman	...	El amigo de Melilla
Benicio Del Toro	...	El amigo de Miami (as Benisio Del Toro)
Francesco Maria Dominedò	...	El Mosca (as Francesco Mª Dominedo)
Albert Vidal	...	El suegro
Ángel de Andrés López	...	Gil - el de los garbanzos
Alicia Moro	...	La hija de Gil
Enric Cusí	...	El hombre de confianza
Francisco Casares	...	El productor (as Paco Casares)
María Martín	...	La mujer del productor
Thomas Lusht	...	El cachas americano

Storyline

Benito González works construction in Melilla and dreams big - of building the tallest building in Benidorm, a great phallic symbol of power, González Towers. Over several years, we see Benito's rise and fall, much like the construction of his tower. Through force of personality, he puts the financing together, taking advantage of women who love him - Claudia, a model who wants to be a star, and Marta, the US educated daughter of a banker whose loan Benito needs. Can his force of personality - his huevos de oro - compensate for shoddy building materials, no permits, and undercapitalization? Nature may have her own power and surprises in store for Benito.

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Plot Keywords:

cunnilingus | copulation | coitus | female full frontal nudity | hot | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

Spain Italy France

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

18 February 1994 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Macho

Filming Locations:

Villajoyosa, Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

ESP 420,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Antena 3 Televisión, Filmauro, Hugo Films S.A.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In mid-1993 the Huevos de Oro shooting team arrived in Benidorm, the Gran Hotel Bali had been built for three years. On the half-built roof of the second highest hotel in Europe, became the ideal backdrop to tell the story of Benito González (extraordinary Javier Bardem).

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Connections

Referenced in Two Girls and a Guy (1997)

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Soundtracks

Bailando
By Cheín García Alonso (as Cheín García)
Performed by Frankie Ruiz
(C) Unimusica, Inc., 1992
(C) Rovden Record, Inc.

User Reviews

A tragedy, told in an over-the-top fashion celebrating Iberian food and stereotypes, where one man's hubris leads to his downfall

Bigas Luna's 1993 film HUEVOS DE ORO ("Golden Balls/Eggs", a title punning on both the goose that laid the golden eggs and a tough guy's balls of steel) depicts the rise and fall of Benito Gonzalez (Javier Bardem), a young Spanish construction worker who becomes an affluent real estate developer on the Mediterranean coast.

After being jilted by his first girlfriend (Elisa Tovati), who leaves him for his best friend, Benito develops a mania for building the tallest building in Benidorm, which may be seen as little more than an enormous phallic symbol flaunting his manhood. Obsessed with this big construction project, his lust for his next woman, Claudia (Maribel Verdú) takes second place to having her sleep with potential investors to win them over. Benito then marries a banker's daughter, Marta (Maria de Medeiros) to have access to her father's funds. Benito lives a life of sexual excess and enormous consumption of food, especially the Alicante sweet known as torron. Like some of the work of Almodovar, Bigas Luna clearly likes riffing on Spanish stereotypes and regional differences.

Ultimately, however, Benito's hubris leads to his downfall. This protagonist is certainly an odious guy, but -- though I won't spoil the ending -- the depths to which he is ultimately sunk inspire a perverse sympathy in the viewer. Years went by between my first viewing of this film and the second, but in the interim I would often look back on this film's plot and ending scenes, thinking of how sad it was to lose everything and end up that way.

HUEVOS DE ORO isn't an especially deep film, but that dramatic arc, hewing very close to classical notions of tragedy, is impressive and I'd say this film is worth a watch.