Pardon my vulgarity, but I have to be honest and say that ever since I watched this film I've had a girl crush on one Penelope Cruz. Just look at that outift in the scene shown above; that red dress and those espadrilles are banging, even today, and there isn't much of the 90s you can say that about. The film itself is really quite weird. Supposedly it's an allegory for new and old Spain but really it's a Shakespearean love triangle with Cruz's breasts in the central role. A young Javier Bardem is also smokin'. It's a feisty, sexy emotional roller coaster that ends with a duel; surreal arthouse sequences give it a sinister undertone. Pretty much one long visceral feast. Not one to watch with Dad but highly recommended.
This film, made up of eight sketches without purpose or connection, had me slapping my forehead. It purports to show us how wi-i-i-i-ildy funny and HILARIOUS infidelity is but could easily be an examination of the lead actors' mid-life crises, extensively documented here. There is lots of fraternité and liberté for the male characters but not much egalité in the poorly-written misogynistic skits. The final vignette, with its totally bonkers concluding scene, must be one of the most ill-conceived ever committed to celluloid. I wonder why Guilleme Canet gets so many of his half-baked film larks indulged? At least his mates get to have fun. Not sexy, not funny, not clever. My only lasting impression is how much Dujardin is beginning to resemble Ricky Gervais. Avoid unless watching ironically.
