Through three different stories by three newcomers filmmakers realizing a personal staging, a dissection is made of violence and relationships between couples. First segment regards a father called Carlos (Francisco Rabal), actor of renown and owner of a luxurious mansion, married to Fernanda (Asunción Balaguer, who fears losing his daughter (Teresa Rabal) to a divorced American officer (Dean Selmier). The second story deals with a proud husband named Germán (Alfredo Mayo), owner of an extensive estate where he breeds fighting bulls, who feels cheated to find that his wife (Julia Gutierrez Caba) has also been unfaithful with a visitor (Dean Selmier) while he flirted with his young girlfriend Bonnie (Barbara Deist). And the third concerns a young American traveler (Dean Selmier) across Spanish lands along with other companions (Daisy Granados, Julia Peña, Luis Suárez) who arrive in a village where carry out some mischief and acts of violence.
Three different segments all of them starred by Dean Selmier with the common nexus of expressing how a situation that seems normal ends up in an outbreak of violence. First episode showing a climate of tension and dissatisfaction of a father when arrives a visitor, the second focuses on the relationship of a Spanish couple with some Americans and the third analyzes a group of young Americans, Spaniards and Cubans who arrive in a little town accompanied by a chimpanzee. It is a segment film, a common three-course in Spain and Italy in the sixties in order to concentrate original ideas and efforts, here Claudio Guerin , José Luis Egea and Victor Erice share the realization. For the three of them it was their first feature film, sponsored by the notorious producer Elias Querejeta and one of the best Spanish screenwriters: Rafael Azcona. It contains atmospheric musical score by Luis de Pablo and songs: Future Colours and You Got Soul by Dave da Costa.
Unfortunately for Spanish Cinema, none of them continued a prolific career in film direction. Claudio died on the last day of filming his third film. Claudio Guerin had previously directed shorts , documentaries and a film titled ¨La casa de las palomas¨or ¨House of the Doves¨(1972) with Carmen Sevilla and Ornella Muti and the cult movie ¨La campana del infierno¨or ¨The Bell from hell¨ (1973) but it turned out to be his untimely swan song since he died by mysteriously fall or jumped to his death from the central bell tower constructed for the movie and being eventually completed by distinguished fellow Juan Antonio Bardem, his sad and mysterious death cut his promising career. Furthermore, Victor Erice has only made three films and Egea did not make a second one. Of course, the best known director is Victor Erice who has made only three films: the masterpiece: ¨El espiritu de la colmena¨, the generally well regarded ¨El Sur¨ and ¨El sol del Membrillo¨ and some Shorts too . However, the prospects could not be better after this debut, since the film won the Silver Shell at the San Sebastian Festival and two awards from the circle of film writers for best script for Rafael Azcona and best actor for veteran Alfredo Mayo. Rating: 5.5/10.
