Lope
(Lope)
Andrucha Waddington / Brazil / 2010 / 106 min
Spanish with English subtitles
Almodóvar’s favorite, Leonor Watling (Talk to Her, The Oxford Murders), and a whole cast of renowned Spanish actors (Luis Tosar: Cell 211, Take My Eyes; Antonio de la Torre: Volver; Pilar López de Ayala, In the City of Sylvia) star in this spectacular romantic epic with echoes of Oscar®-winner Shakespeare in Love. Lope tells the story of the life and loves of immortal dramatist and incorrigible adventurer Lope de Vega y Carpio, a contemporary of “Don Quixote” author Miguel de Cervantes, and a bright star in the literary field of Baroque Spain. In this entertaining and romantic look at his struggles to establish himself, we encounter a man ruled by his passions, and more condemned than commended for his eviscerating wit. In acclaimed director Andrucha Waddington’s (The House of Sand) Madrid, Hollywood’s sanitized imagining of medieval times is done away with. However, grimy fingernails and greasy hair are no deterrent to the swashbuckling appeal of Alberto Ammann (a Goya award winner for Cell 211) and his excellent portrayal of the young, passionate Lope, with a wonderful turn by Golden Globe nominee Sonia Braga as Paquita.