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I was delighted to watch this film again, available through Prime, but dismayed to read the negative reviews included in the IMDb -but to each their taste. These negative reviews reveal how important it is at times to know something about the historical and political context in which the film is set (recommended is A Companion to Spanish Cinema, chapters 4, 5 and 6 -the text published by Boydell & Brewer, not the critical anthology published by Wiley-Blackwell). With the appropriate knowledge, for instance some of the nationalistic historical epics of the forties, the film scripted by General Franco himself "Raza" , the arrival of USA investment in the fifties, the continued repression of critical political views and many defeated Republicans sent to force labor to build what was to be Franco's mausoleum, "The Queen of Spain" can be enjoyed as brilliant entertaining satire of three decades of Spanish popular cinema wrapped in an outrageous plot.

The film is set In the claustrophobic atmosphere of a night club called "The Golden Mousetrap" which allows for the smooth integration of dancing sequences including a flamenco performance of La Chunga. The club, which exploits its young female employees, is run by a stern, determined and fearless owner dona Luisa (Irene Lopez Heredia, famous on the stage and with only four films to her credit starting with Los golfos in 1917). The investigation of a straight face and no-nonsense inspector played by Luis Pena takes place over one night with surprising twists.. Edited in flashbacks by Julio Pena with the help of Maria Luisa Pino who went on through the fifties' international peplum filmed in Spain to work in the USA.

I do not understand the frequent negative comments in the above reviews concerning the editing of this film. Given that much of the film is built on and narrated with so many close up shots, which intensify the experience of the protagonist as very personal, and that his identity at the beginning of the film is that of an overconfident rap-artist subsequently victim of nightmares and hallucinations, it seems to me that the rapid and staccato effect of the editing (or montage) of the film is perfect to convey the subject matter, conflicts and confusion, identity crisis experienced by the main character.