La spagnola (2001)

Lola, a hot-blooded Spaniard, is deserted by her husband for a cool and calculating Aussie blonde. Lola is pregnant again but she and their daughter Lucia are left to starve while Ricardo ... See full summary »

Director:

Steve Jacobs

Writer:

Anna Maria Monticelli

Stars:

Lola Marceli, Alice Ansara, Lourdes Bartolomé

4 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lola Marceli	...	Lola
Alice Ansara	...	Lucia
Lourdes Bartolomé	...	Manola
Silvio Ofria	...	Bruno
Simon Palomares	...	Ricardo
Helen Thomson	...	Wendy
Gabriella Maselli	...	Maria
Alex Dimitriades	...	Stefano
Armida Croccola	...	Maria's Mother
Steve Rodgers	...	Teacher
Tony Barry	...	Dr. Knuckey
Bogdan Koca	...	Polish Patient
Nino La Giudice	...	Renato
John Barresi	...	Antonio
Nic Gazzana	...	Italian Patient (as Nico Gazzana)

Storyline

Lola, a hot-blooded Spaniard, is deserted by her husband for a cool and calculating Aussie blonde. Lola is pregnant again but she and their daughter Lucia are left to starve while Ricardo spends all their savings on a sleek new set of wheels for his mistress. When he dies unexpectedly the family fortune, one flash car, remains with the mistress. Despite all his betrayals, Lucia sides with her father. Desperate and destitute in a country she doesn't like or understand, Lola's quest for revenge begins. Caught in the tempests of begrudging love, revenge, sibling rivalry, jealousy and passion, fourteen year old Lucia must find the strength to survive on her own terms. Aided to break free of her mother by her eccentric Aunt Manolo she struggles to find her own identity and her own quest for justice puts her on a collision course with her mother.

---

Plot Keywords:

mistress | blonde | money | friend | death of husband | 

---

Taglines:

Lust under the hot Aussie Sun.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Did You Know?

Trivia

Official submission of Australia for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 74th Academy Awards in 2002.

---

Goofs

Manola uses plastic cling film to wrap a cucumber as she prepares the meal. However, cling film was not introduced into Australia until 1966 by GLAD and the film is set in 1960.

---

Connections

Referenced in La Spagnola: Behind the Scenes (2002)

User Reviews

2.5 stars

Lucía is a 14-year-old girl living in Australia with her beautiful Spanish mother, Lola (the title refers to her and means "Spanish woman"), while her Italian father (named Ricardo) has run off with an Australian woman. Lola is a woman of fiery emotions, which she demonstrates very quickly by throwing herself on top of and then in front of the car as Ricardo attempts to drive off. She wants him back, or at least for him to pay her bills, and failing that she wants revenge. Lucía would just like a normal family and to spend time with the family chickens and the goat named Elvis.

That barely gives a hint of the flavor of the film, which is *very* quirky, often darkly humorous, and sometimes dramatic. I enjoyed individual bits (Lourdes Bartolomé steals the scenes she's in as Lucía's aunt Manola), but on the whole it didn't really work for me. Still, there's enough here to give it a mild recommendation.

This was Australia's nomination for the best foreign language film of 2001, which is an interesting concept in that Australia is an English speaking country, but this is in fact a foreign language film. It is currently playing in Europe, but the director (who was at the San Francisco International Film Festival screening where I saw it on 5/1/2002 to introduce it but not for questions) does not expect it to get distribution in the U.S.

Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

Spanish English Italian

Release Date:

20 September 2001 (Australia)

Also Known As:

A Espanhola

Filming Locations:

Caltex Refinery, Kurnell, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

AUD1,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$190,829

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wild Strawberries

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Color:

Color