Common Wealth (2000)

The accidental discovery of a big fortune hidden in the apartment of a deceased man will fill the heart of a real estate agent with greed and dreams of a luxurious life, but the neighbours think otherwise.

Director:

Álex de la Iglesia (as Alex de la Iglesia)

Writers:

Jorge Guerricaechevarría (as Jorge Guerricaecheverria), Álex de la Iglesia (as Alex de la Iglesia)

Stars:

Carmen Maura, Eduardo Antuña, María Asquerino

20 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Carmen Maura	...	Julia
Eduardo Antuña	...	Charly
María Asquerino	...	Encarna (as Maria Asquerino)
Jesús Bonilla	...	Ricardo (as Jesus Bonilla)
Marta Fernández Muro	...	Paquita (as Marta Fernandez Muro)
Paca Gabaldón	...	Hortensia (as Paca Gabaldon)
Ane Gabarain	...	Karina
Sancho Gracia	...	Castro
Emilio Gutiérrez Caba	...	Emilio (as Emilio Gutierrez Caba)
Kiti Mánver	...	Dolores (as Kiti Manver)
Terele Pávez	...	Ramona (as Terele Pavez)
Roberto Perdomo	...	Oswaldo
Manuel Tejada	...	Chueca
Enrique Villén	...	Domínguez (as Enrique Villen)
Gorka Aguinagalde	...	Camillero 1

Storyline

Julia finds 300 million pesetas hidden in a dead man's house while selling an apartment. She's a 40-ish real estate agent now forced to face the wrath of a very peculiar community (of neighbors), headed by an unscrupulous administrator. Black humor gives way to suspense, closely followed by horror that doesn't take long in coming to a head in undisguised pandemonium.

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Plot Keywords:

black comedy | cell phone | real estate agent | apartment | neighbor | 

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Taglines:

Una agente inmobiliaria con suerte... Un cadáver descompuesto... Una comunidad de vecinos codiciosos... 300 millones escondidos debajo de una baldosa... Algo huele a podrido en esta casa.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and some sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

Body Count: 6

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Quotes

Julia: So kill me, too and stop boring me with your sermons. You're a fraud and a thief, like me, like everybody.
Emilio: No, I'm not a thief. I'm not a thief. I have a right to it, I do. We did the sports lottery together. I helped him guess the scores. He asked me for advice. He said..."Sporting against Real Sociedad"... And I... I... I said..."Tie". I don't know, it just came out of my mouth. No one else in Spain marked "Tie". Just me. I said, "Tie". When I heard he'd won the jackpot, I was glad. I swear I ...

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Connections

Spoofs The Matrix (1999)

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Soundtracks

Y ¿si fuera ella?
Lyrics and Music composed by Alejandro Sanz
Performed by Alejandro Sanz (uncredited)

User Reviews

Black comedy , amusing situations , and strange roles by offbeat filmmaker Alex De La Iglesia

Roaring and twisted film by the king of black comedy , Alex De La Iglesia . Outrageous movie with odd characters , surreal imagery and twisted plot . Alex De la Iglesia is an excellent and outlandish Spanish director , he had much success as "Accion Mutante" , " El Dia De la Bestia" , "Perlita Durango" and ¨Crimen Ferpecto¨ , among others . De la Iglesia is back with a tragical comedy about a middle-aged woman called Julia (Carmen Maura) finds 300 million pesetas hidden in a dead man's house while selling an apartment , then a community of next-door neighbours (Sancho Gracia , Terele Pavez , Kiti Manver , Paca Gabaldon , among others) headed by a nasty administrator (Emilio Gutierrez Caba) to be aware her plans . The hate between them grows as fast, and as much, as their strong facing off and there takes place murders . It all ends with a breathtaking and operatic duel in the heights . Black humor gives way to suspense, closely followed by embarrassing events that doesn't take long in coming to a head in undisguised pandemonium . Here Alex deals with a homage to dark humor and a typical Spanish story in which there are comedy, tongue-in-cheek , humor, killings, action, drama and results to be pretty entertaining . It's an exaggerated drama/comedy giving the perfect tone through the entire film , you can either follow it or just wander about the ridiculousness of every single minute . Some may regard this kind of dramatic comedy dull or dumb , but the truth is its the most simple , minimalistic, rawest, and pretentious comedy you will ever watch .

This is a full-on surreal Psychotronic black-comedy that blends thrills , suspense , tension as well as an intriguing script full of dark humor , drama and exciting situations . Packed with scenes of absurd nature, this story is a fantastic farce, as we follow the ridiculous situations of a varied group of quirky characters whose destination is dictated by an exaggerated ambition . Good acting by Carmen Maura as a 40-ish real estate agent now forced to face the wrath of a very peculiar community of selfish neighbors . The narration is so filled with colorful characters , nutty comedy, crazy violence mixed with comedy or with surreal elements and an underlying sense of tragicomedy, and it is so excessive and plenty of surprises, one can't help but keep watching, much as it is over the top in many an occasion. The film works on various levels and is constantly reconfigured , however contains some embarrassing , contriving moments and also certain excess . Alex De La Iglesia has created a picture here that in all honesty is very difficult to categorise in terms of genre , as there's a little bit of action , quite a lot of comedy, a good deal of suspense and a host of extreme gruesomeness ; but it does not fit into any one genre very well at all, in truth this is one of the things that makes it good . De La Iglesia reigns in his style this time around and delivers a utterly watchable takedown of ambition and obsession that certainly delivers a few madly inspired moments . ¨La Comunidad¨ captures the essence of the best Álex De La Iglesia, a film maker who, at this point in his own story, is respected and admired worldwide and has the most committed fans in the film universe . Acting personnel all do excellent work in bizarre roles . But special notice needs to be made for Emilio Gutierrez Caba as an unscrupulous administrator ; furthermore Terele Pavez also being quite ridiculously role throughout . Excellent plethora of secondaries as Sancho Gracia , Marta Fernandez Muro , Ramon Barea , Manuel Tejada , Antonio De La Torre , Marivi Bilbao , Enrique Villen , Jesus Bonilla , Luis Tosar and many others . Interesting screenplay Alex De La Iglesia and Javier Guerricaechevarria who usually work united . Atmospheric as well as glamorous cinematography by Kiko De La Rica with a good camera work . Suspenseful and thrilling musical score by Roque Baños , the soundtrack flows great with the film in every way, and creates fantastic atmospheres in every moment.

The motion picture was well directed by De La Iglesia . He's a cool director has got much success as ¨Accion Mutante¨ ,¨Dying of laughter¨ or ¨Muertos De Risa¨ , ¨Baby's room¨ , ¨Oxford murders¨ , ¨Balada Triste De Una Trompeta¨ and ¨Perdita Durango¨ is probably the weirdest Javier Bardem film ever made . Winner of several Goyas (Spanish Oscars), however his movies have not yet reached box office in USA, but he has strong followers , as his films have a kind of comic edge to them . Nonsense, ridicule , laughters , absurdity , disturbing scenes .. and many other issues ; you can find everything in this flick . 'La Comunidad' (2000) won several Goya prizes and a turning point in his meteoric career ; from then on he became his own producer, beginning with '800 bullets' (2002) through the Pánico Films company . 'La Comunidad' obtained the unanimous praise of both the critics and the public and results to be a lot of fun, especially for those who enjoy surrealist humor . This is without a doubt a thrilling and enjoyable movie to be enjoyed for dark humor buffs and Alex De Iglesia fans.

Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

29 September 2000 (Spain)

Also Known As:

A Comunidade

Filming Locations:

Puerta del Sol, Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

EUR4,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$290,754

Company Credits

Production Co:

Antena 3 Televisión, Lolafilms, Vía Digital

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1