A young man, Tony (Ángel Pardo), arrives in Madrid attracted by the adventures that his countryman and friend, Paco (Gonzalo Castro), has told him upon his return to the village. Upon arriving in Madrid he is received by his friend from the same location. Paco puts him in contact with Charo. He takes him to live in a boarding house run by an older woman, Charo (Queta Claver), nicknamed La Corea, because of her love affairs in the 1950s with Americans who were participating in the Korean War. But she is, in turn, the leader of a youth criminal organization that operates in the capital. She supplies young meat to the Americans at the Torrejón de Ardoz military base and chooses Toni as her main favorite and also her lover.
A great look at teenage life and friendship on the underserved side allowed the film to flow efficiently and come to fruition. ¨La Corea¨ is one of several films that address the Spanish youth of the seventies, in fact, it has a certain relationship with the ¨Quinqui subgenre¨ that achieved great splendor during that decade. His style is quite urban and realistic both in the atmosphere and in the dialogues. The main representatives of this subgenre on juvenile delinquency in Spain, in the 70s and early 80s were Eloy De La Iglesia with "Colegas", "El Pico", "El Pico 2", ¨Navajeros¨, ¨La Estanquera De Vallecas ¨ and José Antonio de la Loma with ¨Perros callejeras¨, ¨Perros callejeras II¨, ¨El Torete¨ and ¨Perras callejeras¨, among others. In La Corea (1976) we witness the daily life of a group of adolescents being exploited and abused by older people to obtain carnal pleasures or money. We see their problems grow from Madrid and surrounding areas, in Torrejón de Ardoz. As a curiosity: while the protagonists travel by car along La Gran Vía in Madrid, a large poster is seen - advertised on a theater marquee - for the film El Alegre Divorciado (The Merry Divorcee 1976) with Paco Martinez Soria. Furthermore, at the beginning of the film there is a self-tribute with some images of Concha Velasco and Rafael Alonso appearing while they are filming ¨Tormento¨ (Pedro Olea's previous film).
Starring the young Ángel Pardo as Toni, providing a passable performance as a seventeen-year-old who arrives in Madrid from a small town in search of work. At the time, Pardo played some films as a teenager who becomes involved in thorny issues with older people, such as: Navajeros (1980), El Diputado (The Deputy, 1978) and Los Placeres prohibidos (The Hidden Pleasures 1977). But the best interpretation is given by Queta Claver as "La Corea", a mature woman dedicated to providing contacts and boys to American men at the Torrejón military base. And an attractive Cristina Galbó displaying a disturbing power of suggestion in a lurid role as a prostitute who sells herself to the highest bidder, with some nudity scenes included. In addition, there are brief appearances by illustrious secondary characters and others who will develop prestigious careers, such as: Encarna Paso, José Franco, Quique Camoiras, Emilio Fornet, Dean Selmier and Imanol Arias as the boarding house boy. It showcases an atmospheric and evocative musical score by Carmelo Bernaola. Including some dances with El Porompompero: lyrics by José Antonio Ochaíta (as Ochaita) and Xandro Valerio (as Valerio) music by Juan Solano (as J. Solano), as well as ¨Chattanooga Choo Choo¨ written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren performed by Judy Stephen.
La Corea was professionally directed by Pedro Olea. His first film was ¨ Dias de viejo color (Days of Old Color)¨. Subsequently, for six years, Pedro Olea dedicated himself to advertising and documentaries such as "Guernica", "Río de Bilbao" and television series such as "Cuentos y Leyendas" and others with Basque themes. With "Un hombre llamado Flor de Otoño (A man called Autumn Flower)", Pedro Olea returns to filming, thanks to a subsidy from the Basque government. Later, he made a trilogy about Madrid: "Tormento", "Pim Pam Pum Fuego" and "La Corea". But his biggest hits were "A Man Called Flor de Autum" with José Sacristán and "Maestro de Esgrima" with Asumpta Serna. He also directed "Bandera Negra" about weapons smuggling and a military thriller: "Morirás en Chafarinas." And Olea made two films about witchcraft: "La Leyenda del Cura de Bargota" and "Akelarre" and adding his big hit: "El Bosque del Lobo" (1970), which is considered one of the best films of his important career. Rating: 6/10.
