Opera Prima (1980)
Matias meets Violeta, his cousin one morning in Madrid at the Plaza de Opera. He is twenty-five. She is 18. He's a divorced journalist trying to write a thriller. She studies violin. She's a vegetarian. He loves meat. Many things separate them, but he moves into her apartment.
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From my favorite movies..
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,
Fun and uplifting Spanish romantic comedy with romance , silly events , entertainment and absurd situations . 1978 , Madrid . Matias , a 25-year-old journalist (Oscar Ladoire , also screen-writer) meets his cousin Violeta (Paula Molina) , a 19-year-old violin student , one morning in Madrid at the Plaza de Opera . Matias who has a child is separated to Ana (Kiti Mánver) . Then Matias and Violeta fall in love , but their relationship is marred by the usual presence of the composer Nicky (Luis González) . Meanwhile , Matias is advised by his photographer friend Antonio León (Antonio Resines) . This is an essential and fundamental ¨Madrid Comedy¨ that caused a long string of comedies in similar style during the eighties . Shot in long shots and crammed with overlong dialogues as well as a verbal incontinence by Oscar Ladoire/Matias . Earthy as well fun comedy with amusing elements , excessive talking , antics , entertaining , contrivances ; including engaging , realist performances , and being original as well as delightfully filmed . The flick has the classical story about boy meets girl , developing an amusing love story starred by an enjoyable couple , as he is twenty-five , she is 19 , both of whom have a funny love affair . It is a light , wistful crazy comedy , easy to watch , and easier to love . The film relies heavily on the relationship between the divorced reporter attempting to write a thriller and his young sweetheart who studies violin . Although a lot of things separate them , -as he loves meat and she's a vegetarian- , they join themselves , make love and live together at her apartment , but then things go wrong . Oscar Ladoire gives a sympathetic and natural acting and he is Woody Allen-lookalike ; though , nowadays , this character seems a little silly and bore . This is the start to a fruitful and compelling -but short- collaboration between actor/writer/director Ladoire and Fernando Trueba . Paula Molina is pretty well as Violeta , Paula bears a remarkable resemblance to her sister Angela Molina . However , Angel Fernández's photography is washed-up and being mostly filmed in Violet's apartment-atticThis simple , acceptable and delightful motion picture was well produced/written/directed directed by Oscar-winning director Fernando Trueba , as the flick is entertaining and well worth your time . Shot in direct sound and produced by also director Fernando Colomo who is here the production designer . Being his first success this Ópera Prima (1980) following the style of the "Madrid comedy" . Trueba had major success with Sé Infiel y No mires Quién (1985) , starting a longer collaboration with the producer Andrés Vicente Gómez . He went on directing numerous successes such as Coarse salt , Year of Enlightment , Milagro de Candeal , Niña De Tus Ojos or The Girl of Your Dreams , Calle 54 , Embrujo De Shanghai , Chico and Rita and recently : The Artist and the Model. The multi-award winner in Spain Fernando Trueba was President of the Spanish Academy of Motion Picture Arts and he received the 1994 Oscar for Best Foreign Film to Belle Epoque (1992)and when accepting his Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, director (Fernando Trueba) said: "I would like to believe in God in order to thank him for this prize, but I only believe in (Billy Wilder), so... Thank you , Mr. Wilder!". Wilder himself reportedly phoned Trueba a few days later for acknowledgment and told him: "Hello Fernando, I'm God" . And this ¨Opera Prima¨ that was a big success in Spain .
At the beginning of the 80´s Spanish cinema changed: a small group of artists (also in Music and other arts subjects) created works in a new, cool and refreshing way. The Spanish new democracy (five years old) was surprised by this young comedy where past is forgotten, where old fashioned pseudo-hippy culture is joked and described in an very particular funny way. This movie shows that Spanish young people obsessions are still the same: sex, friendship, sex, success and sex. Perhaps, for non-Spanish speakers is a quite difficult language to direct-translating and understanding. But I advise you to try it.