Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 13, 1994 TAG: 9408160063
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In execution, it's another import - along the lines of "Like Water for Chocolate," "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Enchanted April" - that spins out a romantic story of sex, love and marriage. The same audiences who made those films surprise hits will enjoy this one, an Oscar-winner for Best Foreign Film last year, almost as much.
Despite its saucy approach to the subject, it is old-fashioned in pace and structure. Director Fernando Trueba, who wrote the script with Rafael Azcona and Jose Luis Garcia Sanchez, takes his time. He tells the story at a bucolic pace that makes the movie's main plot twists even more surprising. Trueba also got fine performances from an attractive ensemble cast who are largely unfamiliar to American viewers.
It's 1931, somewhere in rural Spain. Fernando (Jorge Sanz) is a young Army deserter who has no idea what he's going to do with his life. Then he happens to meet Don Monolo (Fernando Fernan Gomez), a sympathetic older man who offers him a place to stay at his huge country house. But only for a few nights. His four daughters are coming from Madrid for a visit. Fernando understands, but the moment he sees the women getting off the train, he's hooked.
Who could blame him? Violeta (Ariadna Gil), Rocio (Maribel Verdu), Clara (Miriam Diaz-Aroca) and Luz (Penelope Cruz) are four of the most delightful sirens ever to share a theater screen. And they are hardly stereotypes.
Violeta seems more comfortable in Fernando's uniform than he does. Rocio, who has an on-and-off engagement to Juanito (Gabino Diego), a local rich kid, knows exactly how to handle Fernando's infatuation. Clara, a widow and businesswoman, would like to remarry but not too soon. And they're all protective of Luz, the youngest, who has a hugh crush on Fernando. If he weren't such a good cook, they'd probably toss him out immediately.
But he can cook, and he's cute. Who knows what might happen if he stays?
That could be the basis for a macho male fantasy, but not in this version of the story. The women are in charge here. The male characters argue politics and religion, and think they're making the important decisions. But Don Monolo, who knows how things really work, never tries to influence his daughters. Each of them, in her own way, understands the difference between love and lust, and the relative importance of the two emotions.
Director Trueba handles the material with a delicate touch. A film like this works as much through mood and atmosphere as through plot. It's a combination of settings - lush countryside, a house straight from the pages of a glossy magazine - interesting characters and playful sexuality.
In "Belle Epoque," those ingredients are mixed together with zesty enthusiasm. For serious moviegoers looking for something with more substance and more playfulness than Hollywood's standard fare, it's a late-summer treat.
Belle Epoque
***
A Sony Pictures Classics release playing at The Grandin Theatre. 107 min. Rated R for subject matter, strong language (subtitled), brief nudity, violence.
by CNB