Jamón Jamón

I approached Jamon Jamon with much anticipation, it was recommended by a close friend by whom it was described as an abstract, witty, satirical comedy; a film with ups, downs, and naked bull fights. I had to see this film. However, after an hour and half of sketchy performances, one-dimensional characters, and a barrage of farcical, poorly interwoven sub-plots, i found myself quite disappointed.

Jamon Jamon possesses all the components of what promises to be an entertaining movie: Quirky, abstract dialogue, offbeat humour, and dark yet comic scenarios. During the initial stages of the movie I felt engaged and involved, concerned about the young misguided couple, and the situation in which they find themselves. However as the film progresses seemingly irrelevant scenes of attempted quirkiness grow all too frequent. You get the distinct impression that Luna is simply attempting to emulate a directorial style established by his more experienced, capable predecessors. Not to discredit the movie to harshly. Luna is clearly able to produce scene's that are moving, profound, and original, there is simply insufficient character development so ultimately you begin to feel indifferent about the outcome of their predicaments.

In conclusion, Jamon Jamon is a noble failure, but a failure all the same. It has all the makings of a quality movie but is let down by it's composition, I feel it lacks a certain intimacy and distances the viewer in it's latter stages when we're meant to feel most involved. If you're a Luna's fan a recommend you see it, just don't get your hopes up to high.

...to get this movie but it surely helps.

It's a bit sad to see so many reviews which so totally miss the point, and none of them from Spain. One negative reviewer even thought the film was set in Mexico which goes to show how much attention he was paying.

This film is a satire on various aspects of Spanish culture and character, primarily machismo and sexual hypocrisy, but taking in culinary preferences, attitudes to animals and those surreal brandy adverts in the shape of bulls that any visitor to Spain will be familiar with. Bigas Luna chucks it all in the stew and turns the heat up to maximum.

And why are so many people upset by the trucks? The film is set next to one of those long dusty highways that are so common in Spain. Of course there are trucks. Take my tip, go to Spain, rent a car, drive between almost any two big cities, stay in a motel at the side of the road, try and sleep - you will get the idea.

Jamón, jamón is a dark, sexy, disturbing and very sarcastic romance, that mercilessly satirizes Spanish mentality and culture, though it can't in all honestly be labeled a comedy. It's no surprise that its most passionate advocates, as well as critics, are Spanish; but to the non-Spanish viewer, it's still an entertaining and captivating film. Unfortunately, it suffers from an amateurish execution that sometimes makes it feel more like a Spanish soap opera than a feature, and since the satire will go over many viewers' heads, the poor character development, melodramatic and unconvincing acting, and often mishandled cinematography may be quite off-putting. Director Bigas Luna clearly shares many passions and tastes with the more world-famous Pedro Almodóvar, but he can't match Almodóvar artistry and visual flair; the heavy-handed symbolism, quirky sexuality and scenes that are apparently weird for the sake of weird make it feel like an Almodóvar rip-off (which it's not) and make it harder to appreciate the stronger scenes and the biting satire.

For non-Spanish viewers, the film's main draw is getting to see Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem very early in their careers; while their top-billing position make it look like Stefania Sandrelli and Anna Galiena are the stars (probably because they were much bigger names in 1992) Cruz and Bardem are not only the real leads but also provide the film's best acting by far, so much so that whenever the scene cuts to one where neither one appears, the TV-soap feeling is suddenly much more pronounced - Sandrelli, Galiena and Jordi Mollà are ludicrously over-the-top, which is part of the point, but Cruz and Bardem manage to transcend that ludicrousness and their characters' flatness and are enough to make the film flow quite well. Fans of either one should definitely check it out; for them or for anyone else, it's a memorable and unusual film, worth your time, but very flawed and should not be approached with very high expectations.

Jamon Jamon is a daft, grubby, and rather disappointing film out of Spain.

My advice straight off the bat is not to take this film too seriously; it's a quirky send up and OTT ironic social commentary. Think of it more as a comedy of errors style farce and you'll be in the right mood.

The film clearly sets out to be an arty satire, and though it is certainly oddball enough to qualify for the category that is not enough in itself to automatically label this film as brilliant - it really isn't.

The plot? Well, here goes . . . A young Spanish man is in a relationship with a young Spanish girl. She is pregnant, and they are to marry. His controlling and wealthy mother disapproves, and hires a would be bullfighter (and male underwear model) to seduce the girl and trash the relationship. The bullfighter, the girl and her boyfriend, a couple of mums, one dad, uncle Tom Cobley and all become embroiled in a tangle of relationships where just about everybody is copping off with everyone else.

This all plays out in a dusty Spanish backwater where, presumably, there's not much else to do. Weaving its way through the film is constant reference to pigs and ham. That opens the door to an obvious gag about the standard of acting, but I'll pass it up.

There's a fair dose of sex and nudity in the film, but none of it is sexy. It's all a bit grubby, in keeping with the locale and general downbeat vibe of the film. Theres also a liking for regularly showing pearls clattering to the floor; I've looked for a metaphor, but can't see one that makes the effort worthwhile.

None of the characters are likeable (unless you count the Golf gti and Yamaha 600 motorbike). Silvia (the young Spanish girl) is particularly annoying as she flits from man to man for no good reason other than her own pitifulness.

I generally warm to films that are quirky and dare to be different - but not this one. Perhaps because it doesn't go all the way and fully commit to being a completely satirical, completely comical or completely sexy film that it leaves my glass very much half empty.

It's full of cultural references, it's unconventional, it's over the top and absurd - I get all that. But ultimately, it is not half as clever as it tries to be. It's all just a bit naff.

Bigas Luna's most noted work in North America, Jamon Jamon is a film that teeters on offensive, but does so with such sweetness and charm that it is hard to resist.

In a plot that only Luna could bring to life, young, sexy Silvia (Penelope Cruz) is engaged to and pregnant by Jose Luis, the son of underwear merchants. Silvia is too lower class for Jose Luis' meddling mother, Conchita, so she hires the young, handsome Raul (Javier Bardem) a worker in a ham factory and wannabe underwear model and bull fighter, to romance her away. But the love starved and still sexy Conchita falls for Raul, while Jose Luis frequents the bordello owned by Silvia's mother. Eventually, the two men duke it out in one of the most unique and bizarre fight scenes ever, beating each other with hams.

This is a dark and weird R-rated soap opera, in which every scene is over the top melodrama, and all characters deliver their lines like they were their last. But it works scene after scene, largely due to the directing and casting. For physical appearance, you won't find a better looking cast anywhere.

Jamon Jamon is challenging because it is so unconventional, but is also enjoyable because of its romance and passion. I enjoy Luna movies immensely and highly recommend this film along with the two that follow, Heuvos de Oro and La teta y la Luna. ***1/2 out of ****.