Backroads (1997)

Year 1974, Spain. Felipe (Fernando Ramallo) is a teenager who travels with Lorenzo (Antonio Resines), his widowed father. Their only property is the Citröen DS with which they go from one ... See full summary »

Director:

Emilio Martínez Lázaro (as Emilio Martínez-Lázaro)

Writer:

Ignacio Martínez de Pisón (novel)

Stars:

Antonio Resines, Fernando Ramallo, Maribel Verdú

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Antonio Resines	...	Lozano
Fernando Ramallo	...	Felipe
Maribel Verdú	...	Paquita (as Maribel Verdu)
Miriam Díaz-Aroca	...	Estrella (as Miriam Diaz Aroca)
Jesús Bonilla	...	Félix (as Jesus Bonilla)
Maite Blasco	...	Tía Elvira (as Mayte Blasco)
Ramón Langa	...	Tío Jorge (as Ramon Langa)
Montserrat Carulla	...	Abuela
Alicia Hermida	...	Benita
Fernando Vivanco	...	Funcionario Jefe
Natalia Menéndez	...	Tía Cristina (as Natalia Menendez)
Tania Adam	...	Miranda
Kathya Adam	...	Amy
Luis Pérezagua	...	Guardia Civil 1 (as Luis Perezagua)
Roger Álvarez	...	Padre Apellániz (as Roger Alvarez)

Storyline

Year 1974, Spain. Felipe (Fernando Ramallo) is a teenager who travels with Lorenzo (Antonio Resines), his widowed father. Their only property is the Citröen DS with which they go from one side to another. Its strategy for living is based on touring the Mediterranean coast by visiting all apartments near the beach areas that are empty in the off-season. By chance's fate they will be forced to change their route, which will cause a series of changes in their lives that will cost them to cope.

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Plot Keywords:

virgin | virginity | u.s. army base | traveling salesman | teenage rebel | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish English

Release Date:

28 November 1997 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Backroads

Filming Locations:

Begur, Girona, Catalonia, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza,Canal+ España,Fernando Trueba Producciones Cinematográficas

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

Speak Softly Love
Written by Larry Kusik and Nino Rota

User Reviews

Quixotic foibles and sexy dames for a light-hearted story

Having recently seen and commented on `La Buena Estrella' which turned out better than expected, I thought I would check out `Carreteras Secundarias' when it popped up on the little screen a few nights ago, again coupling Antonio Resines with Maribel Verdú and adding Miriam Díaz Aroca for good measure; though frankly there is not much to measure. The two young ladies mentioned only had to be sexy little playmates for the errant husband (Resines) travelling around with his son (Fernando Ramallo) trying to make a living from what might be called itinerant selling but is best in Spanish `trapicheo'.

Falling back on the usual facile foibles running from the quixotic to the `cantamañanas' (literally a tomorrow singer, as today he only has a lot to say but not very much to go on), the film is at best a light-hearted entertainment. However, it must be noted that after the usual ready-made formulas common to this type of film and this type of actors, well into the film there are some interesting scenes which might just be taken a little more seriously, but the end scene just falls back onto the predictable frivolessness of time-worn and definitely overdone quixote-macho traits.

But, then, I suppose, Spanish humour at times arduously overworks its shortcomings.

Resines and Ramallo are not too bad; the delightful ladies do just that without any effort and scarcely avoid being merely laughable; some of the coastal scenes are pretty (the film was shot in about three quarters of Spain!), and the music at times accompanies very well. But apart from that, if there is nothing else on the box and you want a bit of light entertainment, you could see a lot worse in Spanish filmography. Perhaps it is just that Martínez Lázaro has not moved on very much from the early seventies ……………