Awesome Movie

A lot of fun.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Here's the chance to see an eighteen year old Penelope Cruz in a sex comedy with her future husband Javier Barden. The chemistry is evident, and it's hard to believe that it took so long for them to hook up. Cruz is Silvia, and she cooks for workers in an underwear factory. Her boyfriend, Jose Luis, has knocked her up, and his parent's own the factory where she works. He gives her a tab from a soda can and tells her it is an engagement ring. His overbearing mother is against a marriage and plots to prevent it. She hires Raul(Bardem) to seduce Silvia, but she resists at first and you can guess the rest, but is still entertaining as hell. Jose Luis's mother, Conchita, gets the hots for the much younger Raul and begs him for sex, until she bribes him with a motorcycle; a Spanish Mrs. Robinson. Her son waffles about whether or not to marry Silvia, and this drives her to Raul. Her fiancé becomes jealous and attacks her. This leads to a duel between the two men involving large hams; which explains the title Jamon Jamon. Cruz and Barden are excellent and should be paired together more often. The film is different and funny.

Jamón, jamón is one of my favorite Spanish movies. In my opinion it's simply a masterpiece of early 90s Spanish cinema art. It merges all aspects I appreciate in a good film: Excellent actors - Penélope Cruz's and Javier Bardem's first movies ever -, bursting sexual energy in combination of romantic relationships, an exaggerated but creative and profound story and sentimental pictures.If you don't share this passion for Spanish movies, the exaggerations in the story line and characters and the thrilling sexuality might bother you. But still, for Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem alone it's worth to watch it.

Bigas Luna is being touted as the new Pedro Almodovar in this Spanish comedy. I don't know about that, but the film is funny and interesting and a chance to see a lot of Penolope Cruz in her first film. Thae fact that you get a bonus with Italian beauties Anna Galiena and Stefania Sandrelli as the mothers just makes it more interesting.The story is basic fare of the telenovella: Rich boy falls in love with prostitutes (Stefania Sandrelli) daughter (Penolope Cruz) and gets her pregnant; boy wants to marry her, but can't tell his domineering mother (Anna Galiena); boy's father is one of mother's biggest clients and doesn't want to get involved; when mom finds out, she pays her lover (Javier Bardem) to break up the pair; lover falls in love with girl; rich kid goes crazy; big fight with ham bones; death.Let's see, there is a nude bullfight at midnight, some unnatural act with a pig, lots of references to ham, and lots of underwear modeling - male, that is - since that is where they make their money. In fact, it is Javier Bardem's filling out of the underwear that attracts him to momma.Some really weird stuff - almost surreal at times - makes this a must see.

"Jamon, jamon" revolves around lust and machismo. It's basically about sex, sex, and more sex! From the very start of the movie, with a bulge shot of Raul (Javier Bardem) to the rape scene of Silvia (Penelope Cruz), the film presents a sordid tale of "love" among twisted minds and perverted people (as each character partners with another throughout the whole film.) You cannot mistake this movie for a wholesome film because sex is literally shoved down your gut every second as it is peppered with symbols of dogs, pigs, a parrot, ham (as the title so gives away), pearls and what have you, which emphasize on the already obvious theme of the movie--sex, while showering you with loads and loads of sex sequences. At one point, I began asking myself what the point of the movie is. The characters are given no dignity and the director doesn't give one any reason to sympathize with them.A ray of light or salvation for this film comes when Silvia after being forced into sex stands up and fights for her "womanity." She runs to her lover Raul and again, engage in sex. This time though impassioned sex/love making happens which is all too different from the previous ones. But later, Raul backslides and again gives in to money and the flesh leaving Silvia behind. Here, I accepted the fact that this movie is really about nothing. My feeling is validated by more surprises from other characters who aborted the purported salvation of this film. The movie ends with ham clubbing... hence, "Jamon, jamon." (I'd club this film with a ham too! grrr.)One good thing about the film is its title. The English translation of the film literally is "ham, ham" but my DVD subtitle says, "Of Love and Ham." I believe this is really the essence of the film--the pathos of looking for love in a community so driven by lust, greed, and selfishness. It is literally shown in the symbol of broken pearls and a pearl shoved in a pig's ass! The quest for love in such a forlorn community is like giving pearls to the pigs. Silvia could be anyone; she could be you or me... wanting some real love. Sadly, she risked it all to people who knew nothing more than giving in to the cravings of the flesh. For this I give the film a 4.