Al otro lado del túnel

A slow but thoroughly enjoyable movie, particularly for those of us who are lucky to understand the original Spanish, since the dialog is the best part of the movie. Full of irony and reflections about what's really important in life. Superb acting by Fernando Rey.

This movie is not for somebody seeking quick action and sound bytes; it's for those who enjoy a slowly developing plot, reaching climax at the end, with good photography, intelligent dialog, superb acting and an irony that keeps a devilish smile on you. Although the end is hard to believe, it keeps you thinking about it (and about life) for quite a while.

This is a delightful and entertaining film about two script-writers sent to a monastery by their producer to complete their script without distractions. But as they work on their film for a Sean Connery melodrama set in nineteenth-century Scotland, their own lives follow the plot they are inventing. The script is engaging and very witty (I do not normally burst out laughing when watching a film on television), the cinematography is impressive, the music based on variations of the Mexican popular song "La llorona" is both suggestive and meaningful. I would appreciate reading reactions to this film from viewers who know little of Spanish cinema, unable to recognise the endearing monks trying to save their monastery by exploiting the tourist industry, or who know nothing of Luis Buñuel and his working relationship with Jean-Claude Carrière and his casting of Fernando Rey since "Viridiana" in 1961, especially his last Cet Obscur Objet du désir -by coincidence this film was Fernando Rey's last film as well. All these references turn the script and story into a real jewel and a brilliant homage to both Spanish popular comedies and to Luis Buñuel. The acting is also superb in its understatement of extravagant characters. P.S. The locations in Aragón are as beautiful as those of the proposed Scotland (I should know, my heart is Scottish).

This was Fernando Rey's last movie as an actor, he died shortly after. And what a way to say good-bye. The plot is rather simple: two screen writers, one old and accomplished (Rey), the other one in the learning curve, but young and smart, hide away in a monastery to escape writer's block and concentrate on a piece of work they must do against a tight time line. But against this simple plot, both men confront the essentials of live: one's work and creative art, love, lust, youth and aging, and ultimately, death. Their task and sense of duty is constantly challenged by the pleasures of life, landscape, food, the enjoyment of a walk in the country, and the final and definitive distraction: a mysterious, sensuous woman.

What makes this movie is the dialog, one of the most intelligent, picaresque, ironic dialogs of any film. Shot against a beautiful landscape.

I've seen it twice, and I've decided to buy it. A must in anybody who loves good intelligent films, out of the ordinary.

Two screenwriters Miguel (Fernando Rey) and Aurelio (Gonzalo Vega) are sent by film producer Marisa (Susi Sánchez ) to a Huesca monastery in the mountains to concentrate and terminate their plot for another Sean Connery film. They are working on their script for the famous actor Sean Connery , a melodrama set in nineteenth-century Scotland, as their own lives follow the storyline they are writing . It follows a peculiar relationship with Mariana (Maribel Verdu) , a young mysterious villager , with two men of opposite generations who fall in love with her.

What makes this film an enjoyable and fun story results to be the amusing , ironical and interesting dialogue in a suggestive narrative . This is an agreeable movie , thought slow-moving , plenty of feeling , irony , extreme sentiment , and reflections about what's actually necessary in life . While allegedly the film focuses on a keen portrait about the details of an autumn spring romance , the film exposes the dominance of female gender over the excessively sentimental men . Although there are some themes hard to believe , it depicts failthfully the tragic consequences of a deep infatuation , it keeps you thinking about mature people for quite a while. Al otro lado del Tunel (The Other Side of the Tunnel) (1994), presents a similar story of passion and old age in La Hora Bruja (The Witching Hour) (1985) style , this time with the amorous trio constituted by Maribel Verdu , Gonzalo Vega and Fernando Rey. As it displays nice interpretations from starring trio : the veteran aging Fernando Rey , the middle-aged Gonzalo Vega and the young Maribel Verdú as a sensuous , picaresque woman who plays ironically with them . Concerning a young girl who bears resemblance herself on Lady Macbeth and the ambivalence of Spanish men who are controlled by matriarchal power . They are finely accompanied by a good support cast such as : Susi Sanchez , Luis Barbero and the great Rafael Alonso .

Filmed against gorgeous landscapes from Huesca province with splendid cinematography by Teo Escamilla who also produced the film along with Jaime De Armiñan . Being shot on locations in Roda de Isábena, Ainsa , Lárrede, Lanuza, Graus ,Huesca, Aragón, and Guadalajara, Castilla-La Mancha . Attractive and catching musical score based on variations of the Mexican popular song "La llorona" performed by Gloria Van Aerssen. The motion picture was well directed by Jaime De Armiñan . He started his long career as a prestigious screenwriter . Among his scripts credits during this time are : El Secreto de Mónica (Monica's Secret) (1961), El juego de La verdad (The game of Truth) (1963),and El diablo bajo la Almohada (The devil under the Pillow). As the natural progression in his work in films, Armiñán moved to become a film director. He made his debut as director with his own scripts in 1969 with Carola de día, Carola de noche, (Carola by day and by night ), a project tailor-made to revive the sagging career of former child star, Marisol who, at age 21, was starring her first role as an adult. This was followed by the equally forgettable: La Lola dicen que no vive sola (1970) (Lola does not live alone), a comedy about a prostitute who promises to Virgin Mary not to have sex again if her daughter recovers from an illness to the disappointment of the men around her. While this first two directorial attempts came and went with little notice, Armiñán won acclaim with his third effort: Mi Querida Señorita (My dearest Señorita) (1971) a project developed out of a collaboration with José Luis Borau. The film, starring the popular Spanish actor José Luis López Vázquez, tells the story of a repressed provincial spinster who late in life discovers that she is really a man and moves to the city to explore his new sexual identity. Mi Querida Señorita was a critical and popular success and was nominated in 1972 for the Oscars in the Foreign Language film category.After the comedy Un casto varón español (1973), Armiñán made El amor del Capitan Brando (1974) (The Love of Captain Brando) a film that follows with sensitivity the relationship of Aurora, a young school teacher, with two men of opposite generations who fall in love with her: Fernando, a middle-aged republican exile, and Juan, a thirteen-year-old boy who enjoys playing acting in Westerns. El amor del Capitan Brando was a big commercial success. During the post Franco period, Armiñán sought ways to express both his political and social themes, but with varying degree of success. Nunca es tarde (1977) (Never too Late) recounts in parodied fashion the miraculous pregnancy of a woman in her eighties through her mystical identification with a young male neighbor whom she claims is the child's spiritual father. A more pointed narrative of sexual and political repression comes through in Al servicio de la mujer española (At The service of the Spanish Woman) (1978), which parodies with black humor the puritanical sexual values of the francoist culture that outlived the regime and continued to shape provincial life. Armiñán most acclaimed film of this period is El Nido (The Nest) (1980) in which an aging widower (Hector Alterio) falls for an adolescent girl played by Ana Torrent who won the best actress award at the Montreal film festival for her performance, and the film was also nominated for an Oscar that year; this was Armiñán second nomination. And another hit as La Hora Bruja (The Witching Hour) (1985) with a great cast as Francisco Rabal, Concha Velasco and Victoria Abril involving the activities of a lascivious traveling magician . Armiñán's filmography over the next fifteen year remained notably slender, largely due to his return to television and his highly successful scripting of several dramatic series as the big hit Juncal . In 2008 Armiñán returned to directing films with 14, Fabian Road, starring Argentinian actress Julieta Cardinali, Ana Torrent and Ángela Molina.

Fernando Rey and Gonzalo Vega feature as two screenwriters who retreat to a monastery to pen their next work. During their stay, they witness the slow toil of monastic life and become fixated upon a local girl, played by Maribel Verdu.

There is very little plot to speak of - the two writers compete for the affection of Verdu, even though Fernando Rey looks more like her grandfather. Maribel performs excellently as the wily minx looking to be cast in a screen role.

The saving grace of the film is the beautiful lush setting and insight into monastic life.