La comunidad (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:

Alone with Neighbours.

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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

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:

€4,000,000 (estimated)

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

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

References Braindead (1992)

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Soundtracks

Why Wait
Composed by Dámaso Pérez Prado (as D. Pérez Prado)
Performed by Dámaso Pérez Prado (as Pérez Prado) & his Orchestra

User Reviews

A first class thriller with some wonderful touches of black comedy. A real return to form for Alex de la Iglesia!

The last movie I saw directed by Alex de la Iglesia was the disappointing 'Perdita Duranga', which had very little of the inspired invention and originality of his brilliant horror comedy classic 'The Day Of The Beast'. It always felt like a bit of a compromise to me - Iglesia takes on Hollywood and loses. 'Common Wealth' sees the director back in Spain, and back in complete control, and what we end up with is a first rate thriller cum black comedy. Almodovar regular Carmen Maura leads a great ensemble cast in this hugely enjoyable movie. In some ways reminiscent of other "unexpected windfall" movies like 'Shallow Grave' and 'A Simple Plan', Iglesias then takes the basic plot premise in new, unforeseen directions. The viewer is left constantly surprised, and the film is engrossing right until the very end. Highly recommended!