Iberian Peninsula Challenge - Official; May 2020

[peeptoad]

Pie chart seems to be getting pretty stagnant. I might start only posting the pie once every two days... unless there is an appetite for me to continue posting daily updates?

I like the updates, but every other day is fine with me, if you are getting busier, sol.

It's not a matter of being busy, but rather the fact that we are flattening the pie at the same time that some countries are flattening their Coronavirus curve. Okay; I'll keep up the daily pie chart updates if you're interested, but unless somebody chimes in with A LOT of viewings from just one country, we probably will only see incremental pie chart changes from now on in.

This might be of interest: a collection of all the pie charts since the Challenge began, with day-to-day changes. Highest Spain has ever gotten is 81%.

I need to see more Portuguese films then... can't let Spain get the upper hand.

[flavo5000]

6. Los amantes pasajeros a.k.a. I'm So Excited (Spain, 2013)
7. A Floresta das Almas Perdidas a.k.a. Forest of Lost Souls (Portugal, 2017)
8. Una libélula para cada muerto a.k.a. A Dragonfly for Each Corpse (Spain, 1975)
9a. Aberration (Gibraltar, 2015)
9b. No pronunciarás el nombre de Dios en vano (Andorra, 1999)

Spoiler

1. La orgía nocturna de los vampiros a.k.a. The Vampires' Night Orgy (Spain, 1971)
2. La comunidad a.k.a. Common Wealth (Spain, 2000)
3. Condenados a vivir a.k.a. Cut-Throats Nine (Spain, 1972)
4. Tenemos 18 años a.k.a. We Are 18 Years Old (Spain, 1959)
5. El hombre de Río Malo a.k.a. Bad Man's River (Spain, 1971)
6. Los amantes pasajeros a.k.a. I'm So Excited (Spain, 2013)
7. A Floresta das Almas Perdidas a.k.a. Forest of Lost Souls (Portugal, 2017)
8. Una libélula para cada muerto a.k.a. A Dragonfly for Each Corpse (Spain, 1975)
9a. Aberration (Gibraltar, 2015)
9b. No pronunciarás el nombre de Dios en vano (Andorra, 1999)

[sol]

05. La Residencia, by Narciso Ibáñez Serrador (1969) 8,5/10

A great horror film. I will try and watch the Bluray to watch the best available version, and add it to my 500<400 list...

Spoiler

01. As Mil e Uma Noites: Volume 2, O Desolado, by Miguel Gomes (2015) 7/10 - Portugal
02. La Communidad, by Alex de la Iglesia (2000) 8/10 - Spain
03. As Mil e Uma Noites: Volume 3, O Encantado, by Miguel Gomes (2015) 8/10 - Portugal
04. Pa negre, by Agustí Villaronga (2010) 7/10

Well, at least you are set to have the highest score in the 'Undeclared' column next time I update the leaderboard...

[sol]

I need to see more Portuguese films then... can't let Spain get the upper hand.

Don't knock yourself. At least you dared to (re)watch The Territory this month. Can't say that about anyone else. Yet.

[sol]

The rain in Spain stays mainly in the... drain?

1. The Invisible Guest (2016) Spain
2. The Fury of a Patient Man (2016) Spain
3. The House That Screamed (1969) Spain
4. Twisted Obsession (1989) Spain
5. In a Glass Cage (1986) Spain
6. Bell from Hell (1973) Spain
7. Paradise Hills (2019) Spain
8. Pieles / Skins (2017) Spain
9. The Platform (2019) Spain
10. Retribution (2015) Spain
11. Julia's Eyes (2010) Spain
12. Autómata (2014) Spain
13. El bar (2017) Spain
14. Klaus (2019) Spain
15. Jefe (2018) Spain

16. Toro (2016) Spain



The action only really begins half an hour in here with (an admittedly excellent) car chase along the beach, and then there is a whole lot of the characters sitting around and talking before the action and suspense once again revs up the final half-hour. There is a particularly well done bit in a building with changing neon coloured lights and a spiral-like structure, but it is not an easy ride getting to this point with mostly very dull characters.

[peeptoad]

7. A Floresta das Almas Perdidas a.k.a. Forest of Lost Souls (Portugal, 2017)
8. Una libélula para cada muerto a.k.a. A Dragonfly for Each Corpse (Spain, 1975)

thanks for the heads up on these two. 'Dragonfly was on my watch list already, but the other also looks interesting.

[Mario Gaborović]

9a. Aberration (Gibraltar, 2015)

Where did you see this, unless you "watched" an album of Italian brutal death metal band called Indecent Excision, which is of exactly the same duration like Gibraltarian film, and from exactly the same year...?

[cinephage]

05. La Residencia, by Narciso Ibáñez Serrador (1969) 8,5/10

A great horror film. I will try and watch the Bluray to watch the best available version, and add it to my 500<400 list...

Spoiler

01. As Mil e Uma Noites: Volume 2, O Desolado, by Miguel Gomes (2015) 7/10 - Portugal
02. La Communidad, by Alex de la Iglesia (2000) 8/10 - Spain
03. As Mil e Uma Noites: Volume 3, O Encantado, by Miguel Gomes (2015) 8/10 - Portugal
04. Pa negre, by Agustí Villaronga (2010) 7/10

Well, at least you are set to have the highest score in the 'Undeclared' column next time I update the leaderboard...

I'm sorry, I will change my entries.

[blueboybob]

38. [Spain] Navajo Joe (1966)
39. [Spain] A Pistol for Ringo (1965)
40. [Spain] The Big Gundown (1966)

[flavo5000]

9a. Aberration (Gibraltar, 2015)

Where did you see this, unless you "watched" an album of Italian brutal death metal band called Indecent Excision, which is of exactly the same duration like Gibraltarian film, and from exactly the same year...?

Nope. Although I'm sure that death metal album is pretty sweet. The Aberration short is on youtube with an English dub:

[flavo5000]

7. A Floresta das Almas Perdidas a.k.a. Forest of Lost Souls (Portugal, 2017)
8. Una libélula para cada muerto a.k.a. A Dragonfly for Each Corpse (Spain, 1975)

thanks for the heads up on these two. 'Dragonfly was on my watch list already, but the other also looks interesting.

Forest of Lost Souls was an interesting one. Definitely falls into the art-horror genre. A Dragonfly for Each Corpse was a pretty solid Spanish giallo with some pretty sleazy touches. It's interesting just seeing Paul Naschy doing something other than playing a werewolf fighting vampires, yeti and samurais.

[peeptoad]

19. A Floresta das Almas Perdidas (Portugal, 2017) The Forest of Lost Souls 5
20. Os verdes anos (Portugal, 1963) The Green Years 6

já visto

1. Operation Felix (Gibraltar, 2008) 6
2. El bosque del lobo (Spain, 1970) The Ancines Woods 7
3. O Sangue (Portugal, 1989) Blood 9
4. Los ojos de Julia (Spain, 2010) Julia's Eyes 6
5. Pastel de Sangre (Spain, 1971) Blood Pie 4
6. Nick (Andorra, 2016) 3
7. The Territory (Portugal, 1981) 8*
8. ...ere erera baleibu izik subua aruaren... (Spain, 1970) 6
9. El aullido del diablo (Spain, 1988) Howl of the Devil 6
10. el techo de cristal (Spain,1971) The Glass Ceiling 9
11. El espanto surge de la tumba (Spain, 1973) Horror Rises from the Tomb 6
12. À Flor do Mar (Portugal, 1986) Hovering Over the Water 8+
13. Extramuros (Spain, 1985) Beyond the Walls 6
14. Viridiana (Spain, 1961) 8
15. Count Dracula (Spain, 1970) 6
16. Coisa Ruim (Portugal, 2006) Blood Curse 7
17. Omnívoros (Spain, 2013) Omnivores 4
18. El cuerpo (Spain, 2012) The Body 7

*rewatch

[peeptoad]

Forest of Lost Souls was an interesting one. Definitely falls into the art-horror genre.

Yes, definitely. Didn't quite work for me, particularly the second half, but it was interesting. I wonder how many countries have "suicide forests" that have appeared in film? Japan, Portugal, ...

[funkybusiness]

008. Rita ou Rito?... (1927, Portugal)
009. O Táxi 9297 (1927, Portugal)
010. Shorts II
*. Reinaldo's Motifs (2018, Portugal) 9min
*. Nazaré, Praia de Pescadores (1929, Portugal) 16min=25min
011. A Dança dos Paroxismos (1929, Portugal)
*. Alfama, a velha Lisboa (1930, Portugal) 28min=53min
*. Douro, Faina Fluvial (1931, Portugal, rewatch) 19min=72min!
012. Shorts III
*. Alfama, a velha Lisboa (1930, Portugal, rewatch) 28min
*. Alfama, a velha Lisboa (1930, Portugal, rewatch) 28min=56min
013. Lisboa, Crónica Anedótica (1930, Portugal)
014. Lisboa, Crónica Anedótica (1930, Portugal, rewatch)
015. A Canção de Lisboa (1933, Portugal)
016. Aldeia da Roupa Branca (1939, Portugal)
*. Famalicão (1941, Portugal, rewatch) 23min=79min!
017. O Pai Tirano (1941, Portugal)
018. Ala-Arriba! (1942, Portugal)


Rita ou Rito: A gender-swapping comedy about a horny couple dressing up as the opposite sex to avoid the woman's parents and man's rival. Oh and there's some really bad blackface bits mixed in, although a couple of them at the expense of the colonial father. This class transgressing romance seems very pre-Estado Novo. Based on a "true story" reported by the film's director, a real reporter who actually went by the nom de plume Repórter X. He also directed O Táxi 9297, and co-wrote the unfinished O Homem dos Olhos Tortos (1918).

O Táxi 9297: A good old-fashioned, Agatha Christie-style murder mystery that descends into melodrama. The resolution takes wayy too long, 1/4 of the whole film's runtime. Inspired by a true story about the murder of an actress, again, covered in the newspapers by Repórter X.

Nazaré, Praia de Pescadores: A solid ethnographic piece about the fishing town of Nazaré by José Leitão de Barros. Worth watching.

Alfama (1930) and Lisboa (1930) make for an interesting double feature. The former focusing exclusively on the earliest neighborhood of Lisbon, the latter on the city as a whole. Alfama has something of the Lumière style to it, while Lisboa is more polished, "enhanced" or re-dramatized, and has a more modernist structure, the life of the city's citizens as a framework for the film, although significantly more propagandized.

A Canção de Lisboa: Fairly decent comedy, only the 2nd sound film produced in Portugal, although I think I'm missing a large portion of the experience as I've read that this film plays a lot off of the first sound film A Severa (1931) which unfortunately doesn't have English subtitles. Personally, I'll never forget the mastoid.

Aldeia da Roupa Branca: Two cab companies (like, with horses, not cars) compete for the business of transporting washerwomen and their laundry to and from Lisbon. Beatriz Costa stars, who was also in A Canção de Lisboa. Actually a really good film if you can overlook a nasty horse fall, and the propaganda aspect. Hermínia Silva has a nice voice.

O Pai Tirano: Oh inclemência! Oh martírio! A legit classic. Ribeirinho, aka not-Rick Moranis, as Chico Mega (best name), and Vasco Santana, of A Canção de Lisboa, star as a pair of shoe salesmen in a department store who are in the department store's amateur theater club, currently rehearsing the titular play. Santana is the group's dictator director. Ribeirinho has a crush on Tatão (Tatão Tatão Tatão), who works at a perfume store across the street. He's so infatuated with her that he decides to be really creepy and move into her mother's house as a new boarder. Because Tatão hates theater nerds, he attempts to hide his participation in the theater club from her. One night, he informs the house maid of a guest (Santana) but that he wants it to be kept a secret. He's rehearsing with Santana a scene for the play detailing his secret inheritance and nobility. Of course, the maid and the rest of the house eavesdrop and assume it to be real. Naturally, high jinks and hilarity ensue. I've left out several subplots. Certainly indebted to Hollywood comedies of the previous decade (and name-checked as well) but no pale imitation. The extended climax is perfectly pitched.
Surprisingly, António Lopes Ribeiro, "technical supervisor" for the propaganda wing of the government, made a pretty decent film! (Ribeirinho's brother irl, btw)
Arthur Duarte, prolific director, also features here as Ribeirinho's rival.

Famalicão: de Oliveira, what a subversive dude

Ala-Arriba!: ethnography and propaganda don't mix well. Amusingly, there's a literal patronizing patriarch guiding us thru the film.

I'll try and post viewings as I watch them, so as to avoid a backlog like this.

O Spoiler

001. Frágil Como o Mundo (2002, Portugal)
002. Short Films
*. Os Crimes de Diogo Alves (1909, Portugal) 08min
*. Os Crimes de Diogo Alves (1911, Portugal) 23min=31min
003. O Homem dos Olhos Tortos (1918, Portugal)
004. Os Faroleiros (1922, Portugal)
005. Mulheres da Beira (1923, Portugal)
006. Os Lobos (1923, Portugal)
007. O Fauno das Montanhas (1926, Portugal)
*. Hipnotismo ao Domicílio (1927, Portugal) 19min=50min
*. Vigário Sport Club (1927, Portugal) 10min=60min!

[flavo5000]

Forest of Lost Souls was an interesting one. Definitely falls into the art-horror genre.

Yes, definitely. Didn't quite work for me, particularly the second half, but it was interesting. I wonder how many countries have "suicide forests" that have appeared in film? Japan, Portugal, ...

Yea, I didn't want to influence you negatively describing it earlier but honestly the second half left me pretty cold too.

[PGonzalez]

O Pai Tirano: Oh inclemência! Oh martírio! A legit classic. Ribeirinho, aka not-Rick Moranis, as Chico Mega (best name), and Vasco Santana, of A Canção de Lisboa, star as a pair of shoe salesmen in a department store who are in the department store's amateur theater club, currently rehearsing the titular play. Santana is the group's dictator director. Ribeirinho has a crush on Tatão (Tatão Tatão Tatão), who works at a perfume store across the street. He's so infatuated with her that he decides to be really creepy and move into her mother's house as a new boarder. Because Tatão hates theater nerds, he attempts to hide his participation in the theater club from her. One night, he informs the house maid of a guest (Santana) but that he wants it to be kept a secret. He's rehearsing with Santana a scene for the play detailing his secret inheritance and nobility. Of course, the maid and the rest of the house eavesdrop and assume it to be real. Naturally, high jinks and hilarity ensue. I've left out several subplots. Certainly indebted to Hollywood comedies of the previous decade (and name-checked as well) but no pale imitation. The extended climax is perfectly pitched.
Surprisingly, António Lopes Ribeiro, "technical supervisor" for the propaganda wing of the government, made a pretty decent film! (Ribeirinho's brother irl, btw)
Arthur Duarte, prolific director, also features here as Ribeirinho's rival.

"Oh inclemência! Oh martírio!" has to be one of the most famous lines of Portuguese cinema, and although it's kind of losing its place, it was used a lot by older generations (it was a staple in my family).
Just out of curiosity, where does your interest in Portuguese cinema come from? I'm really enjoying watching your chronological exploration, and you seem to go to great lengths to understand the socio-political (and the sector's) context when reviewing these films, which is something that unfortunately a lot of film buffs seem to skip. I was also very impressed by your understanding of a lot of the language's minutiae when we briefly spoke earlier this week, so where does that come from?

[blueboybob]

41. [Spain] God Forgives... I Don't! (1967)
42. [Spain] California (1977)
43. [Spain] Bandidos (1967)

[funkybusiness]

O Pai Tirano: Oh inclemência! Oh martírio! A legit classic. Ribeirinho, aka not-Rick Moranis, as Chico Mega (best name), and Vasco Santana, of A Canção de Lisboa, star as a pair of shoe salesmen in a department store who are in the department store's amateur theater club, currently rehearsing the titular play. Santana is the group's dictator director. Ribeirinho has a crush on Tatão (Tatão Tatão Tatão), who works at a perfume store across the street. He's so infatuated with her that he decides to be really creepy and move into her mother's house as a new boarder. Because Tatão hates theater nerds, he attempts to hide his participation in the theater club from her. One night, he informs the house maid of a guest (Santana) but that he wants it to be kept a secret. He's rehearsing with Santana a scene for the play detailing his secret inheritance and nobility. Of course, the maid and the rest of the house eavesdrop and assume it to be real. Naturally, high jinks and hilarity ensue. I've left out several subplots. Certainly indebted to Hollywood comedies of the previous decade (and name-checked as well) but no pale imitation. The extended climax is perfectly pitched.
Surprisingly, António Lopes Ribeiro, "technical supervisor" for the propaganda wing of the government, made a pretty decent film! (Ribeirinho's brother irl, btw)
Arthur Duarte, prolific director, also features here as Ribeirinho's rival.

"Oh inclemência! Oh martírio!" has to be one of the most famous lines of Portuguese cinema, and although it's kind of losing its place, it was used a lot by older generations (it was a staple in my family).
Just out of curiosity, where does your interest in Portuguese cinema come from? I'm really enjoying watching your chronological exploration, and you seem to go to great lengths to understand the socio-political (and the sector's) context when reviewing these films, which is something that unfortunately a lot of film buffs seem to skip. I was also very impressed by your understanding of a lot of the language's minutiae when we briefly spoke earlier this week, so where does that come from?

I can't say I have a very satisfying answer to any of your questions. The desire to watch through Portuguese film history was on a total whim about four days into the challenge. I've enjoyed the few Portuguese films I've seen in the past (mostly from the big internationally successful directors, de Oliveira, Costa, Gomes, &c) and thought "why not?". Contextualizing is just a product of the cross-section of my various interests, language, history, politics, music and film, of course. Regarding the language itself, I've studied some Romance languages in the past so I had a bit of a head-start. I was reading a few books on various Portuguese subjects, mostly history and film, but I've also been skimming through some grammar guides, text books, dictionaries, especially once I started subtitling Alfama. So if I said anything cogent or worthwhile, it was almost entirely chance.

[morrison-dylan-fan]

FTV:7:A sangre fría (1959). (Spain.) 9.



Astoundingly in synch to the visuals, Jose Sola composes a lush,complex Jazzy score of tribal drums beating to the speed of the getaway car and silky high notes to Carlos high stakes robbery. Later saying that German Lorente did not work on the script,and was only credited "So that he had some copyright", the screenplay by writer/director Juan Bosch shreds Carlos teen rebellion streak with the hard flint of Film Noir. Joining the group as the youngest/least experienced in high crime, Bosch crumbles Carlos’s idea of gang loyalty with a refine ruthless cunning Manuel being captured by Bosch as skilfully placing Carlos as the fall guy, and Isabel uses her Femme Fatale seduction to wind Carlos and Manuel round her little finger.

Unveiling the breaking of any sense of loyalty after the robbery with the murder of old timer Fernando Sancho being loaded in a first-person shooting, director Juan Bosch & cinematographer Sebastian Perera come up with ingenious ways to do two-shots,such as Manuel arguing with Isabel, who is off-screen,but her face is kept visible next to Manuel in wall mirrors. Storming the streets of Barcelona with bullets of light bursting from the towering long shadows, Bosch and Perera open up a blistering evil under the sun Film Noir atmosphere whipped up by ultra-stylised tracking shots driving the robbers to the border, hitting coiled close-ups in the safe house inn imploding.

Poetically ending on the wrong side of the tracks from which he came from,Carlos Larranaga gives a great, simmering turn as Noir loner Carlos, whose frustrated fuming Larranaga uses to make Carlos turn red when being betrayed. Elbowing Fernando Sancho’s expert touch as Enrique,in order for him t become the new boss, Arturo Fernandez gives a fantastic, calculating turn as Manuel, whose every withdrawn facial expression is carefully played by Fernandez as Manuel always trying to think one step ahead. A siren to all the men in the gang, beautiful Gisia Paradis, (who sadly died at just age 50 from a overdose) gives a utterly magnetic performance as Isabel, thanks to Paradis flaming Isabel’s seductiveness, as a mask for betrayal in cold blood.

[sol]

008. Rita ou Rito?... (1927, Portugal)
009. O Táxi 9297 (1927, Portugal)
010. Shorts II
*. Reinaldo's Motifs (2018, Portugal) 9min
*. Nazaré, Praia de Pescadores (1929, Portugal) 16min=25min
011. A Dança dos Paroxismos (1929, Portugal)
*. Alfama, a velha Lisboa (1930, Portugal) 28min=53min
*. Douro, Faina Fluvial (1931, Portugal, rewatch) 19min=72min!
012. Shorts III
*. Alfama, a velha Lisboa (1930, Portugal, rewatch) 28min
*. Alfama, a velha Lisboa (1930, Portugal, rewatch) 28min=56min
013. Lisboa, Crónica Anedótica (1930, Portugal)
014. Lisboa, Crónica Anedótica (1930, Portugal, rewatch)
015. A Canção de Lisboa (1933, Portugal)
016. Aldeia da Roupa Branca (1939, Portugal)
*. Famalicão (1941, Portugal, rewatch) 23min=79min!
017. O Pai Tirano (1941, Portugal)
018. Ala-Arriba! (1942, Portugal)

Yeah, um, rewatches of the same film within the month don't count, so I have deducted 2 points from your score to place you on 16 for the next leaderboard update (in maybe a couple of hours from now). Sorry, I would have pointed this out earlier if you posted your viewings earlier.

[funkybusiness]

that sounds pretty arbitrary but okay whatever.

[sol]

Leaderboard updated. Pie Chart as it turns out actually *is* getting interesting. Spain below 70% for the first time in over a week.

[sol]

The rain in Spain stays mainly in the... drain?

1. The Invisible Guest (2016) Spain
2. The Fury of a Patient Man (2016) Spain
3. The House That Screamed (1969) Spain
4. Twisted Obsession (1989) Spain
5. In a Glass Cage (1986) Spain
6. Bell from Hell (1973) Spain
7. Paradise Hills (2019) Spain
8. Pieles / Skins (2017) Spain
9. The Platform (2019) Spain
10. Retribution (2015) Spain
11. Julia's Eyes (2010) Spain
12. Autómata (2014) Spain
13. El bar (2017) Spain
14. Klaus (2019) Spain
15. Jefe (2018) Spain
16. Toro (2016) Spain

17. The Awful Dr Orlof (1962) Spain



This horror movie begins well but soon goes downhill. If derivative of Eyes Without a Face and Frankenstein, the half-mad doctor and his Igor-like assistant are great with their sequences working well thanks to shadowy interiors, creepy makeup and grand long distance shots of the pair carrying bodies in the dead of night. Alas, the vast majority of the film is not dedicated to the title character but rather a dull detective trying to catch him.

[peeptoad]

21. La visita del vicio (Spain, 1978) The Coming of Sin 7

já visto

1. Operation Felix (Gibraltar, 2008) 6
2. El bosque del lobo (Spain, 1970) The Ancines Woods 7
3. O Sangue (Portugal, 1989) Blood 9
4. Los ojos de Julia (Spain, 2010) Julia's Eyes 6
5. Pastel de Sangre (Spain, 1971) Blood Pie 4
6. Nick (Andorra, 2016) 3
7. The Territory (Portugal, 1981) 8*
8. ...ere erera baleibu izik subua aruaren... (Spain, 1970) 6
9. El aullido del diablo (Spain, 1988) Howl of the Devil 6
10. el techo de cristal (Spain,1971) The Glass Ceiling 9
11. El espanto surge de la tumba (Spain, 1973) Horror Rises from the Tomb 6
12. À Flor do Mar (Portugal, 1986) Hovering Over the Water 8+
13. Extramuros (Spain, 1985) Beyond the Walls 6
14. Viridiana (Spain, 1961) 8
15. Count Dracula (Spain, 1970) 6
16. Coisa Ruim (Portugal, 2006) Blood Curse 7
17. Omnívoros (Spain, 2013) Omnivores 4
18. El cuerpo (Spain, 2012) The Body 7
19. A Floresta das Almas Perdidas (Portugal, 2017) The Forest of Lost Souls 5
20. Os verdes anos (Portugal, 1963) The Green Years 6

*rewatch

[morrison-dylan-fan]

21. La visita del vicio (Spain, 1978) The Coming of Sin 7

já visto

1. Operation Felix (Gibraltar, 2008) 6
2. El bosque del lobo (Spain, 1970) The Ancines Woods 7
3. O Sangue (Portugal, 1989) Blood 9
4. Los ojos de Julia (Spain, 2010) Julia's Eyes 6
5. Pastel de Sangre (Spain, 1971) Blood Pie 4
6. Nick (Andorra, 2016) 3
7. The Territory (Portugal, 1981) 8*
8. ...ere erera baleibu izik subua aruaren... (Spain, 1970) 6
9. El aullido del diablo (Spain, 1988) Howl of the Devil 6
10. el techo de cristal (Spain,1971) The Glass Ceiling 9
11. El espanto surge de la tumba (Spain, 1973) Horror Rises from the Tomb 6
12. À Flor do Mar (Portugal, 1986) Hovering Over the Water 8+
13. Extramuros (Spain, 1985) Beyond the Walls 6
14. Viridiana (Spain, 1961) 8
15. Count Dracula (Spain, 1970) 6
16. Coisa Ruim (Portugal, 2006) Blood Curse 7
17. Omnívoros (Spain, 2013) Omnivores 4
18. El cuerpo (Spain, 2012) The Body 7
19. A Floresta das Almas Perdidas (Portugal, 2017) The Forest of Lost Souls 5
20. Os verdes anos (Portugal, 1963) The Green Years 6

*rewatch

How did you find Sin to be Peeo? I'm hoping to watch it from the Arrow set soon.

[morrison-dylan-fan]

FTV:8:Welcome Mr. Marshall! (1953) (Spain.)10.



Ordered by the Franco-era censors to cut a scene from his feature film debut of a school teacher dreaming of meeting a American due to it being deemed “Erotic”, co-writer/(with Juan Antonio Bardem) directing auteur Luis García Berlanga & cinematographer Manuel Berenguer go into town with a wickedly sly satire on the Marshall Plan. Dissecting the town with dissolves mapping out parallel action sequence shots (a recurring motif of Berlanga) that bring the place to life, Berlanga draws a hilarious animated atmosphere, painting Fernando Rey’s dead-pan narration moving at a Screwball-Comedy speed, which spins the whip-pans onto each locals attempt to present a fantasy version of the town in order to impress the Americans.

Bringing the dream crashing down to earth with a very funny bitter punch-line,Berlanga sets up the gag with ultra-stylised dips into absurdest surrealism,entering the dreams of the locals with tracking shots circling the fantastical level the town is hyping the arrival of the Americans to.Whilst playwright Miguel Mihura was only given credit to give the title a prestige image (Mihura did not work on the movie),the screenplay by Berlanga and Bardem paint the town with genuine prestige from their incredibly witty script, via the writers drilling into the Marshall Plan allowing the US to become more involved in Europe, from the locals of the impoverished Castilian town wanting to be the best in show for a delegation of visiting Americans, by spending every penny they have ,in the hope that the false version of the town they present won’t leave them empty handed,but gain wealthy benefactors,as they welcome Mr. Marshall.

[jeroeno]

19. Honor de Cavalleria (Spain, 2006)

[sol]

The rain in Spain stays mainly in the... drain?

1. The Invisible Guest (2016) Spain
2. The Fury of a Patient Man (2016) Spain
3. The House That Screamed (1969) Spain
4. Twisted Obsession (1989) Spain
5. In a Glass Cage (1986) Spain
6. Bell from Hell (1973) Spain
7. Paradise Hills (2019) Spain
8. Pieles / Skins (2017) Spain
9. The Platform (2019) Spain
10. Retribution (2015) Spain
11. Julia's Eyes (2010) Spain
12. Autómata (2014) Spain
13. El bar (2017) Spain
14. Klaus (2019) Spain
15. Jefe (2018) Spain
16. Toro (2016) Spain
17. The Awful Dr Orlof (1962) Spain

18. When Angels Sleep (2018) Spain



This film gets off to a good start, capturing the protagonist's fatigue well. The film begins to nosedive though after his road accident. There is some solid tension at first as he encounters a friend of the victim, but once she puts two and two together, the film falls apart with increasingly ridiculous situations and dynamics between the protagonist and friend. This would have been better as a black comedy or with a likeable protagonist instead.

[sol]

Leaderboard updated; pie chart too with Spain edging back over the 70% mark.

[ororama]

1. Tarde para la ira/ The Fury of a Patient Man (2016) * 92 min. (Spain)

Good revenge movie, but the choices made by Jose seem arbitrary, too hard with respect to some of his victims, too soft with others. The only way his decisions make sense is if they are made because he is determined to strictly follow his plan no matter what happens. He remains inscrutable throughout.

I've been watching the first season of Money Heist, and the way that Netflix recut the episodes makes no sense. They have been running about 41 to 51 minutes, they made 9 episodes into 13, so each original episode was presumably about 20 minutes longer, more or less. Did they think Americans wouldn't watch it if any episodes went over an hour?

*First time viewing.

[peeptoad]

21. La visita del vicio (Spain, 1978) The Coming of Sin 7

já visto

1. Operation Felix (Gibraltar, 2008) 6
2. El bosque del lobo (Spain, 1970) The Ancines Woods 7
3. O Sangue (Portugal, 1989) Blood 9
4. Los ojos de Julia (Spain, 2010) Julia's Eyes 6
5. Pastel de Sangre (Spain, 1971) Blood Pie 4
6. Nick (Andorra, 2016) 3
7. The Territory (Portugal, 1981) 8*
8. ...ere erera baleibu izik subua aruaren... (Spain, 1970) 6
9. El aullido del diablo (Spain, 1988) Howl of the Devil 6
10. el techo de cristal (Spain,1971) The Glass Ceiling 9
11. El espanto surge de la tumba (Spain, 1973) Horror Rises from the Tomb 6
12. À Flor do Mar (Portugal, 1986) Hovering Over the Water 8+
13. Extramuros (Spain, 1985) Beyond the Walls 6
14. Viridiana (Spain, 1961) 8
15. Count Dracula (Spain, 1970) 6
16. Coisa Ruim (Portugal, 2006) Blood Curse 7
17. Omnívoros (Spain, 2013) Omnivores 4
18. El cuerpo (Spain, 2012) The Body 7
19. A Floresta das Almas Perdidas (Portugal, 2017) The Forest of Lost Souls 5
20. Os verdes anos (Portugal, 1963) The Green Years 6

*rewatch

How did you find Sin to be Peeo? I'm hoping to watch it from the Arrow set soon.

I liked it. It was surreal, weird, somewhat typical Larraz. I also have the Arrow set and that was the only one I hadn't seen yet. Vampyres is still my favorite of his, followed by Symptoms, but Sin was worthy enough. All of the blu rays in that set look really nice. I have no idea about the original but the transfer had a nice, grainy quality to it.

[sol]

Finally dipping in Portugal - some 19 films in.

The rain in Spain stays mainly in the... drain?

1. The Invisible Guest (2016) Spain
2. The Fury of a Patient Man (2016) Spain
3. The House That Screamed (1969) Spain
4. Twisted Obsession (1989) Spain
5. In a Glass Cage (1986) Spain
6. Bell from Hell (1973) Spain
7. Paradise Hills (2019) Spain
8. Pieles / Skins (2017) Spain
9. The Platform (2019) Spain
10. Retribution (2015) Spain
11. Julia's Eyes (2010) Spain
12. Autómata (2014) Spain
13. El bar (2017) Spain
14. Klaus (2019) Spain
15. Jefe (2018) Spain
16. Toro (2016) Spain
17. The Awful Dr Orlof (1962) Spain
18. When Angels Sleep (2018) Spain

19. Low-Flying Aircraft (2002) Portugal



This film has an intriguing dystopian premise, yet the movie does not do a whole lot with it, rarely looking at the ethics of infanticide and the possibility that the so-called mutant babies might be more evolved. What the film does very well though is tap into the fears and anxieties regarding having one's first child; Rosemary's Baby feels only a few steps away as the female protagonist here likewise has vivid nightmares and is plagued by constant worry.

[maxwelldeux]

Mountainous rains in Portugal

1. Al este del oeste (1984, Spain)

2. Tristana (1970, Spain)

Not a fan. Didn't care about anyone.

[Mario Gaborović]

20. Maria do Mar (1930) - Portugal
21. Uma Abelha na Chuva (1972) - Portugal
22. Aberration (2015) - Gibraltar + Famalicão (1941) - Portugal + Los apuros de Octavio (1926) - Spain

Spoiler

01. Andorra la República más pequeña del mundo (1935) + The Albius Incident (1992) + Persefone: Mind as Universe (China Tour Documentary) (2013) + Persefone: Spiritual Migration (2013) + Nami: Bless of Faintness (2015) - Andorra
02. Operation Felix (2008) - Gibraltar
03. Socotra, la isla de los genios (2016) - Spain
04. El día de la bestia (1995) - Spain
05. La ley del deseo (1987) - Spain
06. Operation Tracer (2013) - Gibraltar
07. Entre tinieblas (1983) - Spain
08. Carne trémula (1997) - Spain
09. Nick (2016) - Andorra
10. El ladrón de los guantes blancos (1926) - Spain
11. Laberinto de pasiones (1982) - Spain
12. El hoyo (2019) - Spain
13. Encierro de toros (1899) + Los héroes del sitio de Zaragoza (1903) + El ciego de la aldea (1907) + Amor que mata (1908) + Barcelona en tranvía + Don Juan Tenorio (1908) + Benitez quiere ser torero (1910) + Don Pedro el Cruel (1911) - Spain
14. Volver (2006) - Spain
15. Julieta (2016) - Spain
16. Los amantes pasajeros (2013) - Spain
17. Dolor y gloria (2019) - Spain
18. Salomé (1978) + Tráiler para amantes de lo prohibido (1985) + Pastas Ardilla (1996) + Dentro (2002) + Juan con miedo (2010) + Por activa y por pasiva (2013) + De una isla (2019) - Spain
19. Lisboa, crónica anedótica (1930) - Portugal

[AB537]

3. El Verdugo - The Executioner (Luis Garcia Berlanga, 1963) 8/10

[sol]

3. El Verdugo - The Executioner (Luis Garcia Berlanga, 1963) 8/10

Again? I guess you haven't been following the other posts in this thread. That's okay. For the record, I currently have you on 1 point for this challenge, and it's going to stay this way unless you re-post your first three viewings properly. Please double check the rules for the Challenge in the OP and I'll readjust your score (if you fix things) in the next leaderboard update.

[sol]

The rain in Spain stays mainly in the... drain?

1. The Invisible Guest (2016) Spain
2. The Fury of a Patient Man (2016) Spain
3. The House That Screamed (1969) Spain
4. Twisted Obsession (1989) Spain
5. In a Glass Cage (1986) Spain
6. Bell from Hell (1973) Spain
7. Paradise Hills (2019) Spain
8. Pieles / Skins (2017) Spain
9. The Platform (2019) Spain
10. Retribution (2015) Spain
11. Julia's Eyes (2010) Spain
12. Autómata (2014) Spain
13. El bar (2017) Spain
14. Klaus (2019) Spain
15. Jefe (2018) Spain
16. Toro (2016) Spain
17. The Awful Dr Orlof (1962) Spain
18. When Angels Sleep (2018) Spain
19. Low-Flying Aircraft (2002) Portugal

20. [REC]2 (2009) Spain



While [REC] concluded with a somewhat unsatisfying explanation, this sequel develops the mythology behind it and has a really interesting health inspector character. What made [REC] so great though was its first half, focusing on an ambitious reporter intent on making an amazing documentary despite the chaos around her; the second half of the original is mostly just running, screaming and shaky camerawork - which is 90% of what this is.

[AB537]

3. El Verdugo - The Executioner (Luis Garcia Berlanga, 1963) 8/10

Again? I guess you haven't been following the other posts in this thread. That's okay. For the record, I currently have you on 1 point for this challenge, and it's going to stay this way unless you re-post your first three viewings properly. Please double check the rules for the Challenge in the OP and I'll readjust your score (if you fix things) in the next leaderboard update.

I assume you mean that the country was missing? I haven't been following the thread. To be on the safe side, here are mine so far:

1. Abre los Ojos - Open Your Eyes (Alejandro Amenabar, 1997, Spain)
2. Agora (Alejandro Amenabar, 2009, Spain)
3. El Verdugo - The Executioner (Luis Garcia Berlanga, 1963, Spain)

[morrison-dylan-fan]

Finally cracking open the GDT box set.

FTV:9:The Devil's Backbone (2001) (Spain.)9.



Spending 16 years developing the project, co-writer/(with Antonio Trashorras and David Munoz) directing auteur Guillermo Del Toro reunites with regular cinematographer Guillermo Navarro to expand on the Horror foundation of Cronos,whilst threading it with a new mature Gothic Melodrama quality. Filling Dr. Casares with huge jars and a swimming pool-sized vat of preserving fluid bubbling in the school, GDT brilliantly continues to display his love for those traditionally presented as monsters in Horror flicks, via warm close-ups on the ghostly face of Santi, linking Santi’s lost childhood to the loss of young innocence Carlos has experienced in the Spanish Civil War.

Stating in the audio commentary that “Horror is about context”, GDT unveils the allegorical backbone with ultra-stylised long tracking shots round the orphanage held at a child’s-height level capturing all of them being linked together by one location, (where a defused bomb stands in the grounds,casting a shadow across all) which GDT cracks with poetic warm amber wide-shots cast on outbursts of violence, heightening a atmosphere of magical realism rising out from the horror.

Keeping the entire film on the grounds of the orphanage, the writers build the wall of the location as a haunting microcosm to the final days of the Spanish Civil War, as a tug of war between old, important, republic of Dr. Casares,which is being diced by the Fascist tendencies of caretaker Jacinto, leaving the children of this orphan country utter alone, and having to fight for their freedom from the place. Continuing a major recurring theme across his work of the lead being a outsider, GDT brings the horror up-close to Carlos, (whose dad was killed in the Civil War) not only in the haunted face of Santi, but also being pelted with bullying from all the fellow orphans, displeased of a outsider entering their land.

Entering the orphanage with his innocence ruined, Fernando Tielve gives a astonishingly complex feature film debut performance as Carlos,whose childhood sense of wander over a desire to learn more about Santi, is burnt at the edges by Tielve from all the bruises of the horrors from the Spanish Civil War the adults cut across Carlos’s face,as the devil’s backbone breaks.

[vortexsurfer]

2. La caza/The Hunt (Carlos Saura, 1966) Spain

Spoiler

1. El hoyo/The Platform (Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, 2019) Spain
2. La caza/The Hunt (Carlos Saura, 1966) Spain