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| STAR RATINGS EXPLAINED |
| Unmissable |
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| Excellent |
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| Good |
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| Poor |
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| Tragic |
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| FILM DETAILS | Certificate
15 | | Cast
Carmen Maura
Eduardo Antuna
Jesus Bonilla
Paca Gabaldon. | | Directors
Alex de la Iglesia. | | Screenwriters
Alex de la Iglesia
Jorge Guerricaechevarria. | | Running Time
107 minutes |
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La Comunidad
Alex de la Iglesia pushes his comic book sensibilities into Hitchcock territory with mixed results in the twisting tale
Plot
When real eastate agent Julia (Maura) finds 300 million pesetas hidden in the apartment of a recently deceased tennant, she has ideas of keeping it for herself, but then so does every other member of the building. Things turn murderous. Review
A shot of a cat feeding on the fingers of a corpse and a dazzlingly inventive title sequence set the tone for this deliciously macabre comedy. Always something of a maverick, Alex de la Iglesia pushes his comic book sensibilities into Hitchcock territory with mixed results in the twisting tale of an estate agent who stumbles across a lottery stash in a Madrid tenement, only to discover that the other residents have murderous designs on it.
The first hour is endlessly entertaining, as Carmen Maura (sportingly surpassing the frantic mugging she managed in Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown) is torn between a passionate fling with a tango teacher and absconding with the loot. But while the pace never flags, Maura's repeated escape bids become rather predictable and the high-rise finale lacks knockabout panache. It's still good fun, though.
Verdict
De la Iglesia once again manages to blur reality to darkly comedic extremes.
Reviewed by David Parkinson
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