24/03/2014 - The second (and last?) part of the saga, which started with Carmina o revienta, will give more of the same: humour, picaresque characters and complete involvement from the León family

We will not reveal anything except that the inimitable Carmina Barrios is still a widow in Carmina y amén [+see also:
trailer
film profile], the second film her son comedian Paco León (seen in Tres bodas de más [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Javier Ruiz Caldera
film profile]) directed, wrote and produced. The trailer reveals just a few details from the beginning of the film, and we will not reveal more. Because this filmmaker, who was the first Spaniard two years ago to release his film Carmina o revienta [+see also:
trailer
film profile] in movie theatres, online and on DVD simultaneously, has made surprise one of the key ingredients of his work. He will be bringing his film to the Malaga Film Festival once more, after winning three big awards there with his debut film in 2012.

León is repeating the same formula: using relatives (his mother Carmina Barrios, is the undisputed star of the film), his hometown (Seville) and his colleagues to build an ode to life, starting with his father’s death. In a kind of gipsy version of Miguel Delibes’ novel, Cinco horas con Mario, a husband’s body will be watched over for two days, with a few attacks here and there. The tragedy is lightened by humour. The comedy goes from the steps of a building to the ill-reputed neighbourhood where Carmina lives, a place full of strong women and men who live in the shadows of matrons.

The filmmaker has put trust into the women of his family to the extent that in the initial scenes, it almost looks like they are improvising. The danger of over-exposure takes up a decent amount of the film, which is divided into scenes with characters with different relationships with the main character (which she will bring together in the film’s last scene). Some of these characters will be recognised by audiences who saw the first film, including daughter Carmina (played by María León, Paco’s sister) or the woman who insists she is an intimate friend of an important figure.

León, who thanks to television channels mainly, has benefitted from a budget six times the original €100,000 he used for Carmina o revienta (read the interview), almost never takes his camera out of the family apartment (the Almodovar-like tablecloth seems to be the epicentre of his heroine’s universe), he gives wings to secondary actresses (among which Yolanda Ramos shines), he calls on the genetic heritage of characters and allows himself a few social critiques: a corrupt official in jail, and the controversial abortion law from the Gallardón administration.

Carmina y amén is, in the end, an ambitious film, which succeeds in making us like a terrible woman, a stranger to good manners, who uses the most vulgar of languages to resolve problems effectively. As Nina Simone sings with the film’s credits, she does things “her way”. The film will be hitting Spanish movie theatres on April 30.  

(Translated from Spanish)