Carreteras secundarias (1997)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Emilio Martínez Lázaro

Writers:

Ignacio Martínez de Pisón (novel)
Ignacio Martínez de Pisón (screenplay)

Release Date:

28 November 1997 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Teen | Road | Female Nudity | Based On Novel

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Antonio Resines	...	Antonio Lozano
Maribel Verdú	...	Paquita
Miriam Díaz Aroca	...	Estrella
Fernando Ramallo	...	Felipe
Jesús Bonilla	...	Félix
Maite Blasco	...	Tía Elvira
Ramón Langa	...	Tío Jorge
Montserrat Carulla	...	Abuela
Alicia Hermida	...	Benita
Fernando Vivanco	...	Funcionario jefe
Natalia Menéndez	...	Tía Cristina
Tania Adam	...	Miranda
Kathya Adam	...	Amy
Luis Pérezagua	...	Guardia Civil 1
Roger Álvarez	...	Padre Apellániz

Also Known As:

Backroads (USA)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish | English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Spain:13

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

Company:

Fernando Trueba Producciones Cinematográficas S.A.

Quixotic foibles and sexy dames for a light-hearted story

Having recently seen and commented on `La Buena Estrella' which turned out better than expected, I thought I would check out `Carreteras Secundarias' when it popped up on the little screen a few nights ago, again coupling Antonio Resines with Maribel Verdú and adding Miriam Díaz Aroca for good measure; though frankly there is not much to measure. The two young ladies mentioned only had to be sexy little playmates for the errant husband (Resines) travelling around with his son (Fernando Ramallo) trying to make a living from what might be called itinerant selling but is best in Spanish `trapicheo'.

Falling back on the usual facile foibles running from the quixotic to the `cantamañanas' (literally a tomorrow singer, as today he only has a lot to say but not very much to go on), the film is at best a light-hearted entertainment. However, it must be noted that after the usual ready-made formulas common to this type of film and this type of actors, well into the film there are some interesting scenes which might just be taken a little more seriously, but the end scene just falls back onto the predictable frivolessness of time-worn and definitely overdone quixote-macho traits.

But, then, I suppose, Spanish humour at times arduously overworks its shortcomings.

Resines and Ramallo are not too bad; the delightful ladies do just that without any effort and scarcely avoid being merely laughable; some of the coastal scenes are pretty (the film was shot in about three quarters of Spain!), and the music at times accompanies very well. But apart from that, if there is nothing else on the box and you want a bit of light entertainment, you could see a lot worse in Spanish filmography. Perhaps it is just that Martínez Lázaro has not moved on very much from the early seventies ……………