Boca a boca

It's not an American film, there is plenty of English in it, but if you don't understand Spanish you gotta turn on the subtitles; fast paced movie, never really loses you, a mix of comedy, love, struggle and many different sides of Javier Bardem's brilliance. A must for any Bardem collector! I settled for the 15 year old VHS tape of this movie, played fine, and it was a lot cheaper than trying to obtain the DVD of this movie as those are anywhere from $50 to $150 on amazon or ebay.

NO way would spoil this movie for any fan, it's worth while! I have about 12 Bardem movies now. We became fans after we saw the James Bond movie he was in. We were curious who he was. No we have over a dozen movies from Jamon Jamon to Goya's Ghosts, Love in a time of Choelera and Vicky Christina Barcelona. He has made a lot of movie in this century. In the 1990's he made movies to, and they are HILARIOUS! Just hard to obtain and some are trickier to watch. The Dancer Upstairs, Before the Nite Falls, Second Skin and Live Flesh are other mandatory Bardem movies. The Dancer Upstairs is Incredible also. Start Collecting!

That was a great film, showing that in today's life, money is almost everything. And that's not good. Everything is killed in the name of profit and earning money, according to the directions of modern marketing and management.The hero of the film, a poor boy from Carthagena, tries to earn to live, until the great job he's dreaming: the first role in a great movie. In order to do so, he works in phone sex but he falls in love, in the middle of an unbelievable story with murders, wife cheatings ,money arrangement and a sweet gay.... The rest of that very sweet and at the same time, bitter movie, watch them on screen.....Have fun.....

The director tries for an outrageous sex comedy in the manner of Almavodar, but comes up with a mild screwball amusement. Javier Bardem is neither sexy nor amusing, although he tries very hard. He's not a funny guy. One central plot line revolves around a closeted gay man whose wife is having an affair with his business partner. The character is a sad reminder of the tormented closet homosexuals from movies of the 60s (e.g., William Windom in "The Detective"). Even in a farce, the character must be remotely believable. Is it possible that in the enlightened Spain of the 1990s, such a pitiful creature could still exist? Even in a farce, the premise must be believable.

Another plot line involves Bardem trying to get a part in an American movie and become an international superstar. The satire regarding the American view of Spanish men is obvious and puerile. It's meant for hip Spanish twenty-somethings so they can knowingly smirk about the superiority of Spanish culture to that of Hollywood. But the slapstick is mere juvenilia, without much genuine humor. The American view of Spanish men as hot Latin lovers went out with the death of Valentino (yes, I know, he was Italian, but Americans don't know the difference--therein lies something to satirize).

Crime/suspense/comedy with great players , concerning a complex intrigue filled with twists and turns . Being well written and directed by Manuel Gómez Pereira with a good cast , though some inappropriate players . Funny Spanish comedy with emotions , thrills , abstract incidents , female nudity , silly messes and lots of loving scenes . It revolves around loving triangles , and attempts murders . For financial reasons an unemployed aspiring actor named Victor Ventura (Javier Bardem as a likable Cartagena young) works as Pizza boy , and subsequently for a phone-sex enterprise ruled by Raul (Fernando Guillén Cuervo) . One day , the unfortunate Victor receives a call from the mysterious wife (Amanda , well played Aitiana Sánchez Gijón) of one of his best clients , Ricardo (performed by a very good stage actor : Josep Maria Flotats who here is miscast) , a plastic surgeon and sex-phone obsessed . Meanwhile, his representative (an underused Maria Barranco) attempts to star him a big US production whose casting director (Myriam Mezieres) rejects to Victor . At the end , at a luxurious hotel takes place a big mess .

This interesting as well as charming film is full of humor , agreeable scenes , entertainment and being quickly paced . Enjoyable crime/comedy , full of color and some really brilliant frames ; dealing with sexual obsession , improbable happenings , and killings . It is plenty of emotion , humor , profanities , thrills , mayhem and surprise ending . In the beginning it displays slow-moving scenes , but a bit later on , the moving action is continuous but confused and nonsense , as well as unlikely . Rightly agreeable and fun-filled , milestone comedy which neatly combines nail-biting set pieces , entertaining situations and amusement . Shot in certain confusion and with a lot of close-ups by comedy expert Manuel Pereira , there stand out some sensually erotic scenes between Javier Bardem and Aitiana Sánchez Gijón . Some flaws I can find is that some of the story lines are left unexplained and some character end up being implausible . This fun story displays a quartet of sensational protagonists : Javier Bardem , Aitiana Sánchez Gijon , Josep Maria Flotats and Maria Barranco . Sympathetic performance by Javier Bardem , though he is better dramatic actor than comedian . As nice acting by Aitiana Sánchez Gijón , she parades sexily at her best and more relaxed and enticing than ever . And Josep Maria Flotats as a sex-crazed husband obsessed to pursue sexual encounters with men . In addition , an unforgettable plethora of secondaries , very well played , and giving portentous interpretations , such as : Kiti Mánver , Fernando Guillén Cuervo , Amparo Baró , Asunción Balaguer , Emilio Gutiérrez Caba , Germán Cobos , Saturnino García , Candela Peña , Juan Carlos Vellido and pay attention brief appearances of uncredited and veteran actors such as : Anabel Alonso , Pilar Bardem , Fernando Colomo , Juanjo Puigcorbé and Antonio Resines as Casting Director . The picture was nominated and won several Awards , such as Won Goya 1996 : Best Actor Javier Bardem , Best Director Manuel Gómez Pereira , Nominated Goya Best Film , Best Supporting Actor Fernando Guillén Cuervo ; Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Won CEC Award Best Actor Spain ; Fotogramas de Plata 1996 Won Best Movie Actor Javier Bardem ; Ondas Awards Won Film Award Best Actor and Spanish Actors Union Nominated Award of the Spanish Actors Union Film : Lead Performance Aitana Sánchez-Gijón .

Adding a colorful cinematography by Juan Amorós and an evocative musical score by Bernardo Bonezzi though composed by means of synthesizer . The motion picture was produced by Cesar Benítez/Sogetel/ BocaBoca Productions , being well written and directed by Manuel Gomez Pereira along with his usual collaborators : Yolanda García Serrano and Joaquín Oristrell . He usually writes his films and occasionally for other directors as "What Makes Women Laugh?" by Joaquin Oristell who in "Love Can Seriously Damage Your Health" is screenwriter and producer ; both of them are ordinary collaborators . Pereira is an expert on comedies as ¨¨Rose sauce¨, Why do they call it love when they mean sex ?¨, ¨Mouth to mouth¨ , "All Men Are the Same" , though he also has made some drama as ¨The hanged man¨ and this ¨Between your legs¨ . His latest projects, however, tanked as "Off Key" starred by an American-all star cast but was a failure both economically and artistically or simply didn't deliver as "Atrévete y Verás" . Nowadays , he directs TV chapters as ¨Gran Reserva¨ and ¨Cheers¨ series . "Boca a Boca" or "Mouth to Mouth¨ resulted to be one of his greatest successes

I watched Boca a Boca four times in one weekend! I kept inviting people over to see this hilarious Spanish comedy. Javier Bardem (previously of Jamon, Jamon and Carne Tremula) gives an outstanding performance as Victor, a struggling Spanish actor trying to find the road to stardom and making ends meet inbetween. His character seems something akin to T.V.'s Ally McBeal: melodramatic, desperate for love, finding love in all the wrong places, and tripping over himself (literally) constantly.

The plot seems to unfold and unfold relentlessly, completely unpredictable and original: the movie never drags! All the characters are full of life and no scene seems to end without something to make you roar with laughter. All mocking of stereotypes in this movie is done without any sense of hostility, allowing for scene after scene of endless wit, without offending anyone.

My highest recommendation for Boca a Boca!!