If They Tell You I Fell

This is a depressing and slow-moving film whose original title in Catalan results to be ¨Aventis¨ , it is the original language . In the post Spanish civil war years, some children join themselves and tell ¨Aventis¨, they are peculiar Catalan tales . There appears Sarnita (Juan Diego Botto), Fueguiña (María Botto) , among others . In the mid 80s, 45 or so years after the age of the "aventis," the events happen at Morgue , when a medical forensic called Nito (Cesareo Estébanez) and a nurse-nun named Sor Paulina (Mercè Sans) -coworkers in a hospital and both of them grew up together- identify the body of one of the main participants of the "aventis" ; all of them were colleagues from their childhood . The discovery of this corpse (belonging to someone long presumed dead) leads to other twisted facts and unresolved doubts , several decades later . There are several flashbacks starred Daniel Javaloyes 'Java' (Jorge Sanz) , his relationship with Menchu / Ramona / Aurora Nin (Victoria Abril in triple role) , a lecherous wheel-chair bounded aristocrat (Javier Gurrichaga) , some fascists (Luis Homar , Guillermo Montesinos) and even an anarchist leader (Antonio Banderas) when then occurs confrontation between FAI, CNT , AIT , anarchists followers of the leader Durruti (who gave name to the Column Durruti) .

Disturbig and rare drama , based on a true stories called Aventis , being written by Juan Marse and mostly filmed in city of Barcelona . It deals with Catalan kids get together in circles among the ruins and tell stories , known as "aventis" . The flick being developed in flashbacks - an thought-provoking chronical of the Civil War in a "typical" Barcelona microcosm itself . These tales blend war fares , townspeople gossip , strange roles , imagination , showing explicit sex and actual happenings . It is a special story of loves , vendettas , lies and with intrigues behind . This interesting as well as strong story is a passionate retelling and a touching drama , including strong as well as exuberant sex scenes . In fact , many erotic scenes were suggested by the principal actors . According to Jorge Sanz, the quirky sex scenes were Victoria Abril and Jorge's ideas . The main problem has to face "Si Te Dicen Que Cai", beyond not being able to avoid falling into the politic pamphlet is precisely derived from the coldness of its staging , which eventually become monotonous over two hours and some of footage . This is a Spanish enough budget production but obtained a flop in the box-office . Excellent cast forming a powerful human group of actors and giving adequate interpretations . However , the roles are mostly sluttish and crude . Victoria Abril steals the show , winning yet another magnificent interpretation with three smoldering characters , absolutely hypnotic in her account of the bondage , a sadomasochist and destructive relationship . Very good support cast such as Lluís Homar , Joan Miralles , Carlos Tristancho and two young kids Juan Diego Boto and his sister Maria Botto . Won Goya Best Actor , Jorge Sanz , Goya Best Director ,Screenplay Adapted : Vicente Aranda , Best Actress , Victoria Abril.

This sad picture is based on Juan Marse novel's , whose books have been adapted to cinema several times such as El Embrujo De Shanghai , Últimas Tardes con Teresa and La Oscura Historia De Prima Montse . Marsé's works are located in Barcelona, and more specifically the neighborhood of Guinardó, where he spent his childhood, which coincided with the war, which has influenced the way of writing the author throughout his life. Marsé works are thus acclimated in the Guinardó or next to it Barcelona neighborhoods and postwar period or during the Franco; in them, Marse analyzes the moral and social degradation of the war, class differences, the memory of the vanquished, clashes between workers and university bourgeois and lost childhood, almost always appealing to the techniques of social realism, but experiencing sometimes with other avant-garde narrative devices, provided with various degrees of irony .

Evocative musical score by Jose Nieto , Aranda's usual . Including a spotless pictorial cinematography by Juan Amoros , he carries out a photography with juicy atmosphere , being shot Barcelona, Catalonia , though a perfect remastering being necessary . Juan Amoros is deemed to be one of the best Spanish cameraman with a long artistic career . The motion picture was professional though regularly directed in his particular style by veteran filmmaker Vicente Aranda , being hard to follow . He directed a series of award-winning movies firmly establishing him as one of the best Spanish filmmakers . His usual film editor is own wife , Teresa Font . Vicente is an expert on literary adaptations , as he has adapted four novels written by Juan Marsé Canciones Amor en Lolita's Club (2007), El Amante Bilingüe (1993), Si Te Dicen Que Caí (1989) and La Muchacha De Las Bragas De Oro (1980). Vicente often shoots strong erotic scenes , being ¨jealousy¨, a customary issue in his films . Vicente has been working from the 60s with ¨Fata Morgana¨ , ¨Las Crueles¨ , ¨Novia Ensangrentada¨ , ¨Clara es el Precio¨ , among others . His greatest successes were intense dramas with plenty of sex such as ¨Pasion Turca¨ , ¨Intruso¨ , ¨Tiempo De Silencio¨ , ¨Carmen¨ , along with a delinquency tale : ¨El Lute¨ I and II starred by Imanol Arias , his fetish actor along with Victoria Abril (They have worked together 12 times) . His biggest hit was ¨Amantes¨ , although originally intended to be produced as an episode of the TV crime anthology series 'La Huella Del Crimen 2' (1991), before producer Pedro Costa decided to rewrite the script as a theatrical film . And specially the historical story titled ¨Juana La Loca¨ also dealing with jealousy .

Aranda has directed a few things which might be worth talking about, or even mentioning; but he has also made a few films which I prefer to forget about, like........um......like.......I can't remember.

"Aventis" belongs to this category. If starting off from the fact that the novelist Juan Marsé has very little intellectually o literary going for him, if Jorge Sanz has never pleased me in anything at all, and Victoria Abril has satisfied me occasionally as being an actress (and not merely a sex-object), for example in "Bicicletas son para el verano, Las" (1984), "Pazos de Ulloa, Los" (1985) (mini), or Tiempo de silencio (1986), you might be ready to accept that apart from a vague story-line which seems to meander between nowhere and somewhere else, the sight of Jorge Sanz having sex "doggy style" with Victoria Abril, is about as appetising as eating live cockroach sandwiches for breakfast.

Too much tits, bums and testicles for my liking. Near pornography in classification. Poor stuff: just in case some of you reading my comments think I praise all Spanish films. I do not: some are dreadful. "Aventis" (Si te dicen que caí) is one of them.

The director of this film, Vicente Aranda, would have been better off engaging someone else to work on the adaptation of Juan Marse's novel. The film is a mishmash of ideas, with a heavy leaning toward the director's leftist convictions. These heavily political situations play better in Spain than abroad. This is why some of Spanish films fail to reach an wide audience when they decide to concentrate on conflicts that are only interesting to a limited public. It would have been another story if the film would have treated the Marse novel with another slant instead of the heavy treatment it received by Aranda.

Mr. Aranda decided to pair together Victoria Abril and Jorge Sanz, who he will cast on a later film, "Amantes". It's notorious that when a Spanish director runs out of ideas, he will immediately revert to show explicit sex, as a way to make the viewer think he is so ahead of the times by showing raw sex, as a way of being cool. The mess he made of the film, which thankfully we saw on a borrowed DVD, shows a film without any merits. Totally wasted are Antonio Bandera and Juan Diego Botto. Jorge Sanz, is the big enigma of the Spanish cinema and Victoria Abril triple role doesn't do anything for her or for the viewer, who feels lost in trying to make sense of this mess.

Avoid "Aventis" at all costs.

'Si te dicen que caí' ('If they tell you I fell') aka AVENTIS is a very long film made in 1989 by Vicente Aranda based on the novel by Juan Marsé AVENTIS. Apparently 'aventis' are stories created by bored youths in post civil war Barcelona who try to explain historical events mixed liberally with fiction, fantasy, superhero characters, and smoldering sex. In this case the aventis are re-workings of the Spanish Civil War history, a time span than runs from 1936 to 1940 to 1970 to the present. To understand the progress of events would take a straightforward documentary: toss in the concept of 'aventis' as made up by youngsters and the storyline is impossible to follow.

Perhaps in another director's hands, one less associated with his own political leanings, this film concept could have worked. It does, after all, have a cast of some of Spain's finest actors - Victoria Abril, Antonio Banderas, Juan Diego Botto, Jorge Sanz, Javier Gurruchaga, Lluís Homar and many others less well known now. There are so many crosscurrent stories lines that keeping the characters straight is a major problem. We see Jorge Sanz as a paid performer in a brothel: he performs bizarre sexual acts with the very pregnant Victoria Abril to satisfy a voyeur customer peeking through the curtains, yet we also see Sanz and Abril as lovers. The rise and fall of Franco, the conflicts of WW II fascism, communism, democratic republic, and all the machinations of politics and subterfuge and heroism and death make such an odd stew that finally filters down to the death and autopsy of a prostitute by a disturbed doctor....it just goes on and on.

The film is just being released on DVD and the color transfer and quality of film suffer. But those are technical items than can be easily forgiven if the movie itself were more worth watching. Doubtless those viewers who are well grounded in Spanish history from 1936 - 1989 will get much more out of what is probably a fine parody of a country at odds with itself. But for the casual viewer, looking at the film as a piece of Latin surrealism would be the only reason to view it. In Spanish or dubbed English (bah!) with no subtitles as option offered. Running time 120 minutes! Grady Harp