Word: fernando
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...film opens in Spain in 1931, as the monarchy is about to collapse. Fernando (Jorge Sanz, last seen literally engaging in hanky-panky with Victoria Abril in "Lovers"), a young and ripely handsome soldier, ex-seminarian and cook par excellence, deserts from the army and wanders around the countryside. He runs into Don Manolo, a witty and iconoclastic old painter played by the venerable Fernando Fernan Gomez...
...Fernando stays at Don Manolo's rambling estate and cooks up a storm; the two become fast friends, and Don Monolo confides in Fernando his three regrets in life. "The first was not being born among heathens. Second, because of my feet I wasn't called up for the army--so I couldn't desert. And third, it so happens that I can only get it up with my wife. So I can't cheat. You see the paradox. As I couldn't rebel against the Church or the army or matrimony, here I am, a rebel, an infidel...
Though they are having a great time, Don Manolo tells Fernando to leave because his four daughters are arriving from Madrid, and he couldn't bear to have to lose Fernando as a friend in order to gain a son-in-law. Don Manolo takes Fernando to the train station just as the train from Madrid is pulling in. When he sees Don Manolo's daughters descending from the train, each young woman more beautiful than the previous one, Fernando decides that he isn't going anywhere. It's lovely scene, and Sanz's face has the right look...
...Fernando moves back into the house, which Don Manolo's daughters have filled with light and air and gaity. It's the perfect visualization of the atmosphere in Oscar Hijuelos' novel The Fourteen Sister of Emilio Montez O'Brien. Trueba definitely has a feel for the material, and a sure touch with his actresses...
Rocio (Maribel Verdu) is a coquettish imp who wastes no time in dragging Fernando into bed. Violeta (Ariadna Gil) is a lesbian who wears her hair short and likes tailored clothing. She has what is arguably the best scene in the film. During a carnival masquerade in the town, Violeta dresses in Fernando's uniform and the sisters dress Fernando as a French maid. Violeta leads Fernando in a lascivious, passionate, hilarious tango, much better than Al Pacino's in "Scent of a Woman." She then takes Fernando to a barn and h as her way with...