When pregnant Lola (Lola Marceli) lies down in front of her unfaithful husband’s car to prevent him from leaving, he walks away instead and she becomes consumed with hatred and revenge. Her teenage daughter Lucia (played well by Alice Ansara as the subtle foil to Marceli) is ignored and vilified. She starts to hate her mother and the film charts their rocky journey to acceptance.
Indeed so great is their loathing of each other and so reluctant are they to bend; the resolution comes as a miracle. Lola is a demon; one would hate her if it weren’t for the fact that she is played by Marceli. This is an actress whose stunning, wild beauty coupled with her intensity and the extremes of emotion to which she literally throws herself, blows most actors’ insipid attempts right out of the water. And every word of it in Spanish. But the subtitles do not distract. In so far that a two hander character based piece in a foreign language can be, this film is full of action.
Filmed beautifully by Steve Arnold, the strange town of factories and smoke stacks, smothered in heat and dust and populated by almost entirely European speaking people; is a hive of gossip, food, sex, and crazy behaviour. Lola’s sister (Lourdes Bartolome) comes to visit and her cooking scene involving a cucumber is too wonderful to reveal here! And although it comes as a surprise with the sensual, passionate Lola; it is both amusing and liberating to watch a sex scene in which the heroine is so disinterested in her lusty, young lover (Alex Dimitriades).
The husband and wife team (Steve Jacobs and Anna Maria Monticelli) who directed and wrote the film are actors and their affinity with each other and with their actors is obvious. Although the conclusion is abrupt and what should be poignant instead feels unlikely and too easy; the film is an honest portrayal of characters that are brutal, affecting and very funny.
Filmink 4/5
