Julia (Carmen Maura) and her husband are in their 50s and cannot find steady work. She finds herself doing temporary work as an apartment broker in Madrid. After showing a couple a lavish apartment, she calls her hubby over, thinking they could enjoy a night in the classy place. This romantic notion is killed when cockroaches fall through a crack in the ceiling. She calls the fire department and they go into above apartment, where they discover heaps of rotting trash...and a severely rotting corpse! After the scene has quieted down, Julia stumbles upon several clues that lead her back to the squalid apartment...and to 300 million pesetas! Now that she sees herself as a millionaire, she decides to take up residence in the fabulous apartment herself while pondering over what to do with the money.
Everything is finally looking up for Julia.
Until she stumbles into Darth Vader in the hallway. And why is her new neighbor bringing a large kitchen knife when coming to introduce himself?
This terrific black comedy from Spain, finally released on DVD in the US, is a bit of a cross between "The Tenant" and "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World." Chockful of film references, "Common Wealth" (the clever English title, pun intended!) effortlessly blends and bends genres. It begins deceptively as a light comedy that turns dark abruptly. Then it glides into Hitchcockian suspense that transforms into all-out horror, all the while keeping its deliciously nasty humorous edge. The direction is top-notch and the camera-work fascinating. The main thing that makes this movie works is the exceptional ensemble cast of unlikeable oddball characters, led by the outstanding Maura (former Almodovar It-Girl).
There are a few plot points that don't make sense and some of the pacing choices are rather odd, but the writing is witty enough to distract from this. There are also some action sequences that some might find ridiculous, but they fit in with the dark humor and inherent craziness and desperation in the story. "Common Wealth" is an excellent movie that is one of the best recent films from Spain that I've seen. My Rating: 8/10.
Everything is finally looking up for Julia.
Until she stumbles into Darth Vader in the hallway. And why is her new neighbor bringing a large kitchen knife when coming to introduce himself?
This terrific black comedy from Spain, finally released on DVD in the US, is a bit of a cross between "The Tenant" and "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World." Chockful of film references, "Common Wealth" (the clever English title, pun intended!) effortlessly blends and bends genres. It begins deceptively as a light comedy that turns dark abruptly. Then it glides into Hitchcockian suspense that transforms into all-out horror, all the while keeping its deliciously nasty humorous edge. The direction is top-notch and the camera-work fascinating. The main thing that makes this movie works is the exceptional ensemble cast of unlikeable oddball characters, led by the outstanding Maura (former Almodovar It-Girl).
There are a few plot points that don't make sense and some of the pacing choices are rather odd, but the writing is witty enough to distract from this. There are also some action sequences that some might find ridiculous, but they fit in with the dark humor and inherent craziness and desperation in the story. "Common Wealth" is an excellent movie that is one of the best recent films from Spain that I've seen. My Rating: 8/10.