Sans nouvelles de Dieu

Amusing film which is in four languages! Do your best to get an original copy, not a dubbed one. The language of hell is English, the language of heaven is French, the angels communicate to each other in Latin, and the language of Earth is Spanish. It's worth it just for that. Good acting, creative story and filming.

Needing a bit of comedy after the Danish film, Craig, I turn to the ever luscious Penelope Cruz who, along with Victoria Abril, are sure to delight.

To say that Cruz is hot is putting it mildly, as she plays an inhabitant of Hell who is sent to Earth to grab the soul of a losing, debt-ridden, boxer (Demián Bichir). Heaven sends their own representative and the battle is on.

Abril, who falls short of her most skintastic performance, nevertheless gives us a glimpse of her heavenly body as she plays the misogynistic boxer's wife. Cruz keeps it hot as she struts and dances, but does keep it on as the boxer's cousin. Why the bum doesn't stray is a big mystery.

Gael García Bernal (The Crime of Father Amaro, Bad Education, babel) plays the administrator of Hell, who becomes concerned about a corporate takeover by the rich, who are working to convince everyone that they are not really bad, but victims of society. Sides become blurred as the need to continue the existence of good and evil, and Heaven and Hell become more important that who gets the soul.

Fanny Ardant (8 Women, Paris, je t'aime), Elena Anaya (Van Helsing), and Gemma Jones (Bridget Jones Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason), and Elsa Pataky (Snakes on a Plane, Romasanta) all add to the fun.

Entertaining. Unique in style. It's a story about an angel from Heaven and a fallen angel from Hell who both compete over the soul of a boxer.

Penelope's role in this film is more of a far cry than in her previous roles. Normally, she is cast as a beautiful object of desire, as in Vanilla Sky, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, All the Pretty Horses and Woman on Top. She has even been cast as a slightly less-than-attractive, but still desired woman, as in Blow and Gothika. For the first time, Penelope Cruz is actually shot in an almost undesirable way in this film - even letting herself get beat up a couple of times. She does pull it off, and the film succeeds as an off-kilter dark comedy with that Hollywood "Heaven vs. Hell" factor added in.

It is worth it, if for nothing else, to see Penelope dance around her room "Travolta style" to the song "Kung-Fu Fighting".

Agustín Díaz Yanes's mesmerizing, quirky and funny 'Sin Noticias de Dios' is a refreshing take on heave and hell on earth. With an original and amusing premise and strong writing, it is a fun ride all the way. I haven't seen anything like it. The humour is a good mix of quirkiness, dryness and sarcasm that works on multiple levels. It's funny how a black and white 50's French setting is chosen to depict heaven while a dirty (perhaps South American prison) setting is chosen to portray hell. Similarly language selection is interesting as French is spoken in heaven, English is spoken in hell and Spanish on Earth.

Heaven is shown as a very romantic, classy and glamorous place to be at (a bit like the romanticized image one sees in classic French films) while hell is quite the opposite. Fanny Ardant and Gemma Jones play the leaders of the respective places (and they're both terrific). Their character recruit Carmen and Lola to conquer fallen boxer Manny's soul. Of course battle ensues when the two recruits come face to face but not the way you think.

Yanes assembles a n enviable cast that includes Penelope Cruz, Victoroia Abril, Gemma Jones, Gael Garcia Bernal, Elena Anaya, Elsa Pataky, Fanny Ardant, Demián Bichir, Cristina Marcos, Peter McDonald, Luis Tosar and more. All the actors do a great job. Abril sure is stunning and she sure can sing. Her rendition of 'I Want To Be Evil' is a must-see. Penelope Cruz has a tricky role and she does full justice to it. She is sexy, spunky, streetsmart and not to be messed with but at the same time she's just 'like one of the guys'. Saying more would be revealing too much.

On the technical side, it's a very well made film. Colour is used very effectively. The cinematography is first rate. I especially enjoyed the long single shots. And of course, the soundtrack is magic.

'Sin Noticias de Dios' is one of a kind. I'm surprised it's received so little recognition but it's a thrill ride all the way.

When the leaders of Heaven and Hell, Marina D'Angelo (Fanny Ardant) and Davenport (Gael García Bernal) respectively, decide to fight for the soul of the decadent boxer Manny (Demián Bichir), they send their best agents to Earth. The singer Lola Nevado (Victoria Abril) from Heaven and the former gangster Carmen Ramos (Penélope Cruz) from Hell are assigned to get his soul, and they have a tough dispute to accomplish their mission.

"Sin Noticias de Dios" is one of most original comedies I have ever seen. The story is very funny, ironical and charming, with splendid lines and dialogs in the screenplay. The direction is very precise; the wonderful cast, with a very charming and sexy Penélope Cruz; a stunning (as usual) Victoria Abril singing in a perfect Portuguese; an elegant and classy Fanny Ardant; and a very funny Gael García Bernal, has also the participation of Demián Bichir (from "Sexo Pudor Y Lágrimas", "Santitos" and "In the Time of the Butterflies"), Elsa Pataky (from "Beyond Re-Animator" and "Romasanta") and an uncredited last scene with Javier Bardem. The vision of Heaven as Paris, Hell as an American prison (could be a South-American one – certainly they are worse) and the Hell's administrator as an American president in his car with his body-guards are absolutely hilarious. Victoria Abril singing "I'm Evil" and Penélope Cruz dancing an extremely sexy dance are delightful. I highly recommend this movie, which has two (2) wins and seventeen (17) nominations of festivals, for those viewers that like a refreshing and very different comedy. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Sem Notícias de Deus" ("Without News From God")