Lágrimas negras

`Desire is sad', wrote W. Somerset Maugham half a century or more ago. Added to the fact that love is blind, which probably means more or less the same thing in the end anyway, the arbitrary ingredients imposed by a Ricardo Franco rather disposed toward somewhat outlandish plots that embark on not unfeasible lines but rather on some kind of metaphysical debauch, assures us of an unusual kind of cinematographic entertainment. Although Franco died after only three weeks filming, Fernando Bauluz continued the job, faithfully adhering to the outlined concepts; he had not much choice; any other deviation from the set piece would have been an abominable aberration. Three days after Ricardo Franco's burial the crew returned with great enthusiasm to the task of completing the film. Fele Martínez as the `nice' young man down the street with a `nice' job and a `nice' fiancée who are about to buy a `nice' apartment in a `nice' suburb, suddenly find their `nice' plans shattered by a not so `nice' Isabel (Ariadna Gil). This young actress's part in the film completely overshadows Martínez (Andrés); Ariadna Gil is brilliant; absolutely absorbed into the part of a schizophrenic who suffers from a `rare' degenerative disease which affects the brain, she delivers the punch with that `latina' aplomb and bravura which just makes or breaks the whole piece. Fele Martínez is no match for this Herculean tour de force; even Ana Risueño as Cinta leaves him in the shade in her worthy contribution. It is Ariadna Gil that holds you spellbound; it is Ariadna Gil who commands the screen, demands focus and masters the art of impossible rôles; it is Ariadna Gil and her extreme skills that stop the film from sliding into something murkily messy. As Ángel Fernández-Santos says, Ariadna Gil measures up to having to go beyond the terrible and beautiful catastrophe in Franco's complex and abrupt moral and poetic geography in `Lágrimas Negras'. Since a small part in `Lola' (1985') when she was 16, then going through dramatic art school in Barcelona, she has made a number of appearances on TV, the stage and in films, at last getting known in `Belle Époque' (1992) and `Tranvía a la Malvarrosa' (1996), both with scripts by Rafael Azcona (Logroño, 1926), as well as `Malena es Nombre de Tango (1996). Now screening, watch out for her in `Nueces para el Amor', an Argentinian-Spanish co-production in which she has to learn to speak with a `porteño' accent. Just turned 30, Ariadna Gil represents a new, vital generation of actresses who use intelligence above all else, and this is what makes beauty shine through with real force in any part she is given. This is a `set-piece' inasmuch that each step forward in the course of the film is certainly predictable; it is an `unset-piece' inasmuch that the handling of many scenes is not so typically logical – or even logically typical. It is apparent at an early stage that the film will reach hopelessly tragical consequences, as the synchronised predictability drives inexorably towards the only possible outcome, despite the problem of having to try to escape from sublime banalities at frequent intervals. The story is right; Ariadna Gil is extremely right; but there is something which does not allow the whole to hang together. Maybe the music has something to do with it; Eva Gancedo says maybe it was her tribute, her homage, her requiem for Ricardo Franco; the music in itself is good, but it becomes overly evident, even reaching strident protagonism, especially in the closing scenes. The mysteriously warm pacific glow of sunset over Portuguese Atlantic contrasts pathetically with the lewd funeral pyre glowing obscenely over the sands in the final scenes, as the music swells and fills the screen and dashes all attempt at poignant delicacy at the end of a harsh drama.

This movie, BLACK TEARS in English, deals with the unusual theme of a nice, educated young guy who falls in love with a mentally ill young woman. He is attractive, successful, and about to get married. She varies in appearance and demeanor, belonging to the upper crust of society, from which she often escapes in wild, very dark episodes. This is, arguably one of the best Spanish dramas of 1999, having been nominated for several awards, including the Best Actress Goya for Ariadne Gil in January 2000. The cast is uniformly excellent. Spanish film fans will notice two rather extreme departures in the casting. Fele Martinez (OPEN YOUR EYES, THESIS, LOVERS OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE) who usually plays goofy, very plain-looking guys has been transformed into a hip and handsome leading man, with no glasses, facial hair, or bad hair, and a pumped up physique. On the other hand, Gil, usually the gorgeous irresistible heroine, is most often shown here as an unattractive and unkept psychopath. So both leads are cast against type, and yet succeed admirably. An unusual drama worth checking out.

Fele Martinez plays the part of a photographer that has a beautiful rich girlfriend that loves him and good perspectives of live. One day, he is robbed and raped by two drug-addicts and his lives changes totally, as he becomes obsessed by one of the girls that raped him. She is in psychiatric treatment, as she has the need of destroy the life of the people that are around her; the photographer won't be an exception as his life starts to change and going hell due to the effects of a fatal love. The argument is not bad, but it is a bit absurd, while the film intends to be reliable. The plot is a bit forced. In addition, the actors are not as better as demanded, on fact they are quite bad (despite the fact that they are good actors) and the chemistry between the main pair is really bad, as they don't seem in love at any moment. I know that the director died wile doing the film, and all the cast decided to continue in his memory, but the result is not good, as Franco's substitute is not as good as him in directing. A disappointing film that, at first sight, seems good although being really bad.

I don't know why, possibly because of the DVD cover, but I expected something like the Brazilian/Portuguese masterpiece "Terra Estrangeira" in this flick. It's completely different, although it shares a couple of points. So those fooled by the cover, don't be. But then again, is this any weaker? Hell no! Lágrimas Negras shows us it's no surprise to see divine beings such as Almodovar in Spanish cinema. If an unknown film from the cinema culture of a land can be so magnificent, one should expect it to offer other excellent examples like it already does.

I hadn't heard of any of the actors or the director before seeing this movie, and I was almost shocked by their excellent performance. The picture selection is a little extraordinary, sometimes reminding slightly of "Tésis", yet it's flawless. The actress playing Isabel, Ariadna Gil, is not only one hell of a drop dead gorgeous woman, but she's also acting a mad woman as if she had been a mad woman in her past life!! If I saw those eye gestures in someone in real life, I'd advise her to see a psychiatrist asap. Absolutely no overacting or exaggeration, simply perfect. Be it the director's virtue, be it a great casting selection, the rest of the actors are also doing a great job. I've already fallen in love with Ariadna Gil, but it would be unfair to say anyone else on this movie is anywhere behind excellent. The screenplay is also perfect, so we have yet another person to thank and congratulate. I'm a guy at the age of the head character, and each time I saw a scene with him and his girlfriend, I said "how can a man cheat on such a lovely girl dude?!?". And each time I saw a scene with Isabel, I said "ok, I guess I could be deviated with such a deity as well". This isn't only because both women are attractive, but also because their aura is utilized efficiently and perfectly by the director and the screenplay.

Any grade below 9/10 would be an insult to this movie, so here's my 10/10.

Part of the problem with this movie seems to be the premature death of the original director, Ricardo Franco. It appears his successor, Fernando Bauluz, couldn't measure up to the work Franco had left behind, and the film suffers in the way it was released.

This is the main difference between a Spanish film and a Hollywood one: When Andres, the young photographer is mugged one night in a Madrid street by two women bandits, one decides to rape him. Had it been an American film, it would have been the other way around.

Everyone in this forum is in awe of Ariadna Gil's portrayal of Isabel, a young woman suffering from mental problems that are deeply rooted. While Ms. Gil gives an intensely charged performance, her co-star Fele Martinez, never rises to the occasion, as he never appears to be this man possessed by a passion that consumes him. The chemistry is wrong between the two leads and it shows. No amount of fixing could correct what wasn't there to begin with.

The screen play, written by Mr. Franco and Angelez Gonzalez Sinde doesn't help clarify the action, which in a way, contributes to derail what the late director probably set out to do. In his hands, maybe another movie would have resulted.