
Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas are a riot in this delightful Spanish satire on actors, egos, and film art.
Although they are famous for multiple iconic movies with Pedro Almodóvar, and appeared (separately) in Pain and Glory (2019), incredibly Banderas and Cruz have only acted together on-screen once before, in the brief prologue to I’m So Excited (2013). If that was an amuse-bouche, this riotous comedy from Argentine filmmaking team Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat (2016’s The Distinguished Citizen) is a veritable feast. Cruz plays film director Lola Cuevas, a celebrated if unconventional auteur on the festival circuit. She is approached by an elderly pharmaceuticals millionaire (José Luis Gómez) who has decided to finance a masterpiece of cinema to burnish his legacy. There’s a Nobel prize-winning novel, and juicy roles for two male leads. Cuevas casts international movie star Félix Rivero (Banderas) opposite Iván Torres (Oscar Martínez), a revered, deeply serious stage actor, calculating that their diametrically antithetical acting practices will colour their performances. But the intensity of their rivalry threatens to spin her movie off its axis.
Two hours of sharp reflections deliciously wrapped in entertaining antics.
Lovia Gyarkye, Hollywood Reporter
Community Partner
Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat
Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Oscar Martínez, José Luis Gómez
Spain/Argentina
2021
In Spanish with English subtitles
Audience Award, VIFF 2021
Book Tickets
Tuesday June 28
Wednesday June 29
Friday July 01
Saturday July 02
Sunday July 03
Monday July 04
Tuesday July 05
Thursday July 07
Credits
Executive Producer
Javier Méndez, Laura Fernández Espeso, Javier Pons
Producer
Jaume Roures
Screenwriter
Andrés Duprat, Gastón Duprat, Mariano Cohn
Cinematography
Arnau Valls Colomer
Editor
Alberto del Campo
Production Design
Alain Bainée