Jamón, Jamón

After returning from Lisbon, Portugal, this was the first film I watched. Definitely different and a bit awkward I did really like it. It all begins a bit slow, but the last half hour is great. This film shows that an over dramatic story can still be enjoyable, because of its structure. This film has a clear beginning, middle and end. In the last half hour everything comes together, you feel the tension between the characters rise and it all ends in this big dramatic climax. Director Bigas Luna makes the story really work by his great directing. This film can be said to be a real 'Tragicomedia', which is very popular in Spanish cinema. Just look at Pedro Almodóvar's films which have a lot of soap-opera like elements to it. You hate it or you love it. I find myself falling in the latter category of people who love these kind of films. I liked how Luna enhances the drama by making objects fall apart and showing these actions in slow-motion. Penélope Cruz, the 'Madonna of Mardid' is very nice in this film looking stunning and both very seductive and innocent at the same time. She's perfect for the role. It has a lot of nudity in it, showing her breasts a couple of times. Also the sex scenes are kind of rough. They aren't about making sweet love, but more about physical attraction. I especially liked the part where Penélope's Cruz character walks home with a bag of grocerys and Raul falls off his motorcycle. The dusty locations add to the beauty of the scene. And the red Cruz's character is wearing fits really nice in that particular image.

What is it about?

Silvia, a young woman and her boyfriend José Luis are very in love until Silvia tells him she's pregnant and they make plans to get married. Knowing his parents, and especially his mother, aren't really fond of Silvia, José's afraid of their reaction of getting married. Just like expected his mother gets mad and insists the two break-up, wanting José to look for another woman instead of Silvia, the daughter of a prostitute. But José really loves Silvia and only want to marry her. Failed to convince him, José's mother starts an evil plan. She and her husband own a company for underwear which mother designs. She remembered a guy who she thought was very attractive and hires him to make Silvia fall in love with him. At first Silvia doesn't want to know anything about this guy Raul, but the more they meet the more she starts to feel attracted to 'El chorizo'. Meanwhile José's mother starts to like Raul as well. They have sex and she asks Raul not to visit Silvia anymore in exchange for a new motorcycle. Raul promises not to visit Silvia anymore, but without José's mother knowing, still does. When José and Silvia have a fight he starts noticing there has to be someone else, another guy. Silvia says their only problem is her pregnancy and José having no interest in their child. Eventually José comes to know what's really going on with Silvia and Raul and it all ends very tragically.

Final Verdict: ***1/2

This film is true madness. At the end all characters seem to have had sex with eachother. There's a lot of sexual attraction between the characters and they all cheat. José makes love to Silvia's mother who works in a bar as a prostitute. Raul seduces Silvia and also makes love to José's mother. And Silvia eventually also starts kissing José's dad. So in the end they all betray each other. Probably not the most realistic plot, but it does work very well. You just have to see through it all and not think to much about it. Just go along with it and you will like it. This film is both comedy and drama. Comedy, not meanging very funny and providing many laugs, but more in the way that you shouldn't take things too seriously. It's strange though how a film with such a story of family betrayal and extremes can still be a joy to watch. Adding to this joyment is the way Bigas Luna tells the story. I loved the metaphors he uses and the slow-motion techniques. And even though the story is crazy and close to ridiculous, it really fits well and has a good structure. I'm still not quite sure what to think about this film though. At the end I started to really like it, but the beginning started off kind of slow. The way I see it, the film is very good, at least for what it is. In itself the film is well structured and has good directing. The actors are very good as well, especially Javier Bardem. There is something very cool about the whole atmosphere and I loved the locations. On the other hand, though, the film is very strange. Everyone makes love to eachother and cheats. This makes the film kind of weird and some people might find it stupid or unrealistic because of that. It's not that this film could have been better, because it's good the way it is. I do have a love for it, but I guess that saying that it might become a favourite of mine goes a bit too far.