by ben curtis 

The other night I was speaking with Marina and a friend, Yolanda, about Spanish films and, in particular, the classic Jamon Jamon. Yolanda thought that it really went for the dark side of Spanish life (whorehouses, amateur bull taunting, violence), and Marina commented that Penelope Cruz, then 16, portrayed a strongly sexual role. My reaction was: “Typical Spanish film”.

Over the last few months we have seen several Spanish films including Princesas and Azul Oscuro Casi Negro. Princesas is a gritty drama about prostitutes in Madrid, and involves a lot of sex and violence. Azul Oscuro Casi Negro deals with a young flat-block porter, his disabled father, and the porter’s women. Both contain nudity and are essential harsh social reality pieces. Both are pretty good.

But my question is this, does anyone know any Spanish film that does not contain nudity (all be it the odd topless shot) somewhere in the film? (Even the comedies seem to have to show breasts in order to qualify as Spanish cinema…) Am I being unfair? Is this the same everywhere these days?