Don't Believe the Hype

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

"Unique" is an adjective that is too often employed to describe many things. In most cases, that is undeserved, but not in the case of Amanece, que no es poco. A tribute/parody of 60s Spanish comedy films, Amanece remains a truly peerless and funny movie experience. Amanece, que no es poco subverts many tropes common in comedies from Francoist Spain in a very surrealistic and amusing way. Structured in vignettes, the film shows the peculiar lives of the inhabitants of a fictitious town in rural Spain. The people shown are involved in situations that are hilarious because no attempt whatsoever is made to give them a realistic feel. The film is very recommendable to anyone who knows well enough Spanish culture. The only problem with this film is perhaps what I just mentioned, for someone not very familiar with Spanish culture, this may come off as a very bizarre and probably unfunny film.

Absurde , choral and upsetting story dealing with Professor Teodoro (Antonio Resines) of Oklahoma University who along with his father (Luis Ciges) are traveling around Europa on a motorcycle with sidecar when they arrive in a village where happens fantastic happenings . As the priest (Cassen) carries out a particular mass , the Mayor (Rafael Alonso) has problems with neighbours who want to share his woman (Fedra Lorente) , people knows the William Faulkner's novels , while a Corporal (Jose Sazatoril ¨Saza¨) of Guardia Civil has to face strange events . Then there appears some students from American Euton University , Belgian meteorologists and many others things.A numerous cast plays a lot of characters and forty protagonists , at least . Screenwriter , Director Jose Luis Cuerda tells his special humor in which blends life , death , religion sex and songs . This rural comedy relies on repetitive situations , silly scenes and absurd deeds . Strange happenings occur on the village and surroundings , as men grow on lands , raining rice , a chore of the Russian Army singing and dancing in the church , Mayor's hanging , rare levitation , among others . This highly valuable tale results to be a surrealist comedy with an excellent Spanish-all-star cast as Antonio Resines , Jose Sazatornil, Rafael Alonso , Aurora Bautista , Gabino Diego and a notorious secondary cast as Fernando Valverde , Pastora Vega , Luis Ciges , Fedra Lorente , Ovidio Montllor , Rosalia dans , Manuel Alexandre , Guillermo Montesino , Rosalia Dans , Violeta Cela and many others . The actors say rare and embarrassing dialogs in utter seriousness.It is a disconcerting flick by Jose Luis Cuerda who also efficiently wrote/produced/directed and resulted to get an acceptable success at Spanish Box office . Cuerda is a veteran professional , being his film debut ¨Pares and Nones¨ a typical Madrid comedy . He subsequently directed ¨El Bosque Animado¨ also with script by notorious Rafael Azcona and based on Wenceslao Fernandez Florez's novel . He followed directing failures as a drama titled ¨Viuda De Capitan Contreras¨ and more comedies as ¨La Marrana¨ and ¨Tocando Fondo¨ . His greatest success corresponds as producer , as he produced hits for Alejandro Amenabar as ¨Tesis¨ and ¨Abre Los Ojos¨, among others . His highly-acclaimed and successful movie was ¨Lengua De Mariposas¨ , it has a rating as better than average and is a beautiful and powerful film . His most personal movies were two comedies with a peculiar and surrealist sense of humor , this ¨Amanece Que no Es Poco¨ and the following titled ¨Asi en el Cielo Como en Tierra¨ but in anti-religion tendency .

Well, this is certainly one of those movies that seize your attention from minute one and keep you there all through the show. It's in the best tradition of Spanish surreal humor (like Luis Garcia Berlanga's "Calabuch") but, unlike that one, is far more caustic with 80's Spanish reality and social elements. In fact, what is said about 80's Spain could also be a good description of many other societies of those years but, obviously, you would have to change the village priest or the Civil Guard or the Mayor (which, in one of the most far-fetched, yet brilliant utterances in the movie, is claimed to be "necessary, while we villains are contingent" - take a look at a dictionary to get that one) for equivalent figures in your own society. On the other hand, some of the characters in the movie are definitely peculiar and purposely surrealistic. For instance, the Argentinean guy who claim to be a writer but, each time he starts writing a new book it turns out to be a plagiarized copy of some Faulkner or Chekhov work. The Belgian group of tourists that visit the village with the very curious but determined purpose of hearing the Priest while celebrating mess because the man is so very skillful and wonderful in elevating the holy host towards the heavens. The public meeting ordered by the Mayor in front of the city hall in order to remember "what everybody was doing on June 24, 1947" and have a little flashback experience (obviously, the Belgian group disappears immediately since they weren't at the village a that time). Some others are pretty down-to-earth and perfectly recognizable, like the hackneyed bunch of American university youngsters with their sans-souci attitude and naive approach to everything that happens in the village. To cut a rather long story short, this movie is a whole new cinematic experience and in the good sense too. Highly recommendable.

This is a big and great surrealist comedy , so be prepared and have excellent gags .This movie just cannot be told or spoiled . Nobody can tell you what this movie is about, you got to watch it !!. It portrays and ridicule in a ironic way most of the topics associated with Spain and laugh without mercy at some of the Spanish cultural clichés . There are some flaws but they are minor cause some of the ideas are excellent . This film deserves to be better known .The director José Luis Cuerda followed in this vein in the movie "Así en el cielo como en la tierra "(In earth like it is in heaven ).Cuerda have been the producer of many movies directed by Alejandro Amenabar .