Últimas tardes con Teresa

A handsome hoodlum, Manolo (Angel Alcázar) charms his way into the life of a pretty rich girl in 1950s Barcelona. Manolo's character is complex and fascinating at times. He is a motorcycle thief, but at the same time he is a sensitive and poetic man. That of the lower suburbs and that of the Catalan upper bourgeoisie, which are related through two characters: Manolo Reyes, the "Pijoaparte", a vulgar motorcycle thief who aspires to escape from misery, and Teresa Serrat (Maribel Martín) , a university student from the Barcelona upper bourgeoisie. His love for Teresa leads him to commit illegal acts. Teresa, on the other hand, is a spoiled and capricious girl who does not understand the difficulties of life in El Raval but her innocence and sincerity make the audience empathize with her. As the story progresses, however, we also see a more vulnerable and compassionate side of Teresa. Through the love story between Pijoaparte and Teresa, the flick shows how socioeconomic differences prevent two people from different social classes from having an equal relationship. In the 50s we learned to live...

This is a youth drama set in Barcelona in the 50s in which a petty thief tries to rise from his lower social class and to do so he tries to fall in love with a high-class girl whose parents are extremely rich. It deals with problems and contradictions in 50s Barcelona, through the love story between a young robber and an upper-class girl, showing two socially antagonistic worlds. There is a powerful social critique and an unforgettable love story, as well as a scathing social criticism of Spain in the 50s, where the gap between rich and poor was abysmal. The characters are complex and realistic, and the world they live in is vibrant and authentic. The story is good but the result is a mediocre film that's spurred by the lack of chemistry of the two main actors: Maribel Martín and Ángel Alcázar. They are quite bad actors and the love story between them doesn't really work. Especially the protagonist Angel Alcázar is extremely wooden , in fact, later despite this leading role he had an inferior film career as a supporting player until her early death at 57. The third protagonist, Patricia Adriani, is a little better playing the unfortunate maid. As usual, the main distraction of the film is discovering which notable secondary characters will appear in the next sequence and also showing up future promises that will develop important movie careers, including the following: Cristina Marsillach, Juanjo Puigcorcobé , Eulalia Ramón, Guillermo Montesinos and veterans: Alberto Closas, Mónica Randall as the wealthy parents, Alfred Lucchetti, Àngel Jové, Charo López, José Manuel Cervino, and José Bódalo.

The film is based on the Juan Marsé's bestseller. Ultimas tardes con Teresa (Last afternoons with Teresa) , one of the most notable works of the Spanish writer Juan Marsé, is a novel full of nuances and symbolism that transports us to the atmosphere of Barcelona in the 50-60s. In this work, the author reflects on the society of the era and considered to be a masterpiece of Spanish literature. Marsé's prose is poetic and evocative. That makes the world of Pijoaparte and Teresa come to life in the reader's mind. In addition, Marsé uses colloquial and realistic language that makes the characters and their environment even more authentic. However, this cinematic adaptation is really average.

The film is filled with vivid images and detailed descriptions of life in the 50s, colourfully photographed by Fernando Arribas and adding an evocative musical score by Josep Maria Bardagí with songs at the time, such as: ¨Torero¨written by Renato Carosone and Nicola Salerno performed by Renato Carosone; ¨Stormy Weather¨ written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler; ¨See you later, Alligator¨ written by Bobby Charles performed by Bill Haley and the Comets; ¨Enamorado del mar¨ performed by Jorge Sepúlveda; ¨Niña¨ written by Bobby Capó and Johnny Nieto performed by Lorenzo González. The motion picture was mediocrely directed por Gonzalo Herralde. This craftsman has directed some decent films (La febre d'Or, El asesno de Pedralbes, Raza el espiritu de Franco , Jet Lag: vertigo en Manhattan, Laura, del cielo llega la noche, La muerte del Escorpión). Rating. 5.5: Average but accceptable and passable.

This adaptation of the famous novel from Juan Marse is not as known as it deserves. Love and ambition in a social contrast plot, sometimes dramatic and other even tragicomic, but very realistic. The set design of Barcelona in the fifty's, during the Franco era, is extremely well achieved, Patricia Adriani (Maruja) and Maribel Martin (Teresa) are beautiful and their acting is also very good, as well as Juanjo Puigcorbé (Juan) and especially Angel Alcazar (Manolo), very adequate for the leading role, and with an acting that reminds of a mixture of Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift.

Anyway, if you want to have fun and laugh with an Spanish movie, don't choose this, because the story is sad and also very hard. But if you want something that can makes you think about, this is a very good movie