their time doing it. Also the tragedy part was less tough to deal with and didn't have the overdramatic outcome as for example the ending of Jamón, Jamón. And where La Tete I La Lluna made you feel a bit of uncomfortable because of the banal farting jokes, Huevos De Oro felt as a more serious film, despite the comedy. Overall these returning themes in Luna's work were more balanced out, protecting itself from becoming too over the top. As in Jamón, Jamón, Javier Bardem is seen again as the male protagonist. Almost as if it comes natural to him and he doens't have to put too much effort in it, his performance is strong, authentic and a real pleasure to watch. Like most of Luna's characters, Benito González is well written, and layered, being both seductive and funny as also at times agressive and a real business-man with big dreams. Besides Bardem's very solid performance, Huevos De Oro also features nice performances from Maribel Verdú and Maria De Mereiros as the woman González says to truly love and the one he marries. And almost unrecognizable, it also features actor Benicio Del Toro as Bob, the gardener from Miami.What is it about?
Benito González, a hard working construction worker, dreams of one day making it big, having his own huge building made. Alongside these big aspirations he likes to spend his time off with seducing beautiful women and having sex with them. Like a real macho man, he loves his women and can't get enough of them. When the first woman he says to really love, Rita, leaves him for his best friend, he then decides it's time to move on and get to work on making his big dreams a reality. Taking advantage of Marta, the daughter of a wealthy business man, he marries her to gets hold of the finances he needs to build his dream building. Marta whom
he only marries for money, loves him, but he doesn't love her back. Instead Benito loves Claudia, a model who dreams of becoming an actress and has found in Benito both her love and a guy who can help her make her own dreams a reality. When one night Claudia decides to put a piece of clothing that belongs to her in one of Benito's jacket pockets, Marta find out about Benito having a secret mistress. Benito's marriage now seems to be doomed, but when the two women meet and talk about their love for Benito, they find piece with each other. Their passion for the same man leads to the three of them making love together. Everything seems to be fine now afterall, but then one night tragedy strikes as one of them dies in a tragic accident, and slowly Benito's imperium starts to crumble piece by piece.Final Verdict: ****
A very enjoyable film, Huevos De Oro, is a funny drama with solid acting. A good story and good directing by Luna, make for a very succesful piece of cinema. As with his other films what really keeps his films interesting are the characters and their relationships. Feeling very real and sincere, Luna's characters struggle with real emotions. Not shying away from sexual content, Luna shows real life and real struggles and real passion. In Huevos De Oro one scene that really stuck with me was the one where Maribel Verdú's
character, Claudia, has sex with Benito and moans 'Miami, Miami' as they dream of one day going to America. With her Spanish accent she turns the word into something sexual, which makes for a very funny moment. It's this way of mixing comedy with tragedy that keeps this film feel fresh and realistic. Saved from getting overdramatic, Huevos De Oro feels really to have hit the right key and therefore succeeds better than the other three films of Luna MTV has recently showed. Having his own style, Luna's films are not for everybody, but if you enjoy Spanish cinema, you will likely enjoy Luna's films as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment