The Queen Of Spain review: Penelope Cruz reunites with her Belle Epoque director Fernando Trueba for this madcap comedy which features an interesting international cast.
The Queen Of Spain review by Paul Heath at the Berlin Film Festival, 2017.
Queen Of Spain review
Told primarily in its native tongue, but with some English, mostly coming from the American actors in the picture, Trueba’s film is set in 1950s Spain where returning actress Macarena Granada (Cruz) is welcomed home to shoot a Hollywood-financed historical production. We’re introduced to the actress and via reels of archived footage from the day, some real, some enhanced with Cruz’s likeness skillfully inserted. We’re painted an instant picture of Granada’s life up-to-now, both private and professional before quickly shifting to the then present-day and the character of Blas Fontiveros (Antonio Resines), who has also returned home after a long period of time missing. His sudden appearance shocks, but delights his friends and former peers, and Blas attempts to reintroduce himself to the film community and hopefully bag himself a job. Circumstances reveal a previous tryst between Blas and Granada, which is explored later after Blas is imprisoned as to his past catches up with him. Granada and her fellow filmmakers then hatch a plan to free Blas from imprisonment… and more madcap antics ensue.
Queen Of Spain review
Trueba has truly assembled his usual gang of collaborators with his new film Queen Of Spain. As well as Cruz and Resines, the filmmaker has brought on board a bunch of actors who has worked with previously, including Loles León, Santiago Segura, Neus Asensi, Rosa María Sardá, Jesús Bonilla and Jorge Sanz. We also have the likes of Javier Cámara, Chino Darín, Carlos Areces, Ana Belén and Arturo Ripstein, as well as the likes of Mandy Patinkin and Cary Elwes, two co-stars of one of the greatest action comedies of all time, Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride. There really isn’t a bad performance among anyone involved here, Trueba clearly comfortable with all involved. The film’s farce-like elements worked largely well, and save for a few slightly out of place sequences – one involving an act of sodomy/ borderline rape, for example – tend to work. To say the film is laugh-out-loud funny is perhaps an over-statement, but there’s enough going on to raise a titter or two.
The production values are big and it all looks grand and glossy, Trueba and his team flexing his muscles in a genre where he truly excels. Of course it is far from the high climbs of the BAFTA-winning Belle Epoque, or even the very different Chico and Rita, but there’s definitely a lot of fun to be had here, and the cast and crew are obviously having a blast.
Queen Of Spain review
A film that can be summed up as a cross between last year’s Berlinale opener Hail! Caesar and yes, elements of The Princess Bride, combined with elements of Trumbo – this is European cinema at its lightest and indeed most fun.
Queen Of Spain review by Paul Heath, February 2017.
Queen Of Spain debuted at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival.
