Search - Aventis on DVD


Aventis
Aventis
Actors: Juan Diego Botto, Victoria Abril, Joan Miralles, José Cerro, Luis Giralte
Genres: Action & Adventure, Indie & Art House, Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Military & War
UR     2006     2hr 0min

Aventis is based around a legendary Spanish style of storytelling, known in the Catalan language as "aventis," blending fact, fiction and myth to tell its epic tales. Decades after the Spanish Civil War in Barcelona, a doc...  more »

     
1

Larger Image

Movie Details

Actors: Juan Diego Botto, Victoria Abril, Joan Miralles, José Cerro, Luis Giralte
Genres: Action & Adventure, Indie & Art House, Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Military & War
Sub-Genres: Action & Adventure, Indie & Art House, Love & Romance, Mystery & Suspense, Military & War
Studio: Timeless Media Group
Format: DVD - Color - Dubbed
DVD Release Date: 03/07/2006
Release Year: 2006
Run Time: 2hr 0min
Screens: Color
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 4
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Languages: Catalan, Spanish, English
See Also:

Similar Movies

Intruso
Director: Vicente Aranda
?
   UR   2008   1hr 26min
Carmen
Director: Vicente Aranda
5
   UR   2008   1hr 59min
Lolita's Club
1
   NR   2009   1hr 40min
En la Puta Vida
Tricky Life
Director: Beatriz Flores Silva
1
   NR   2004   1hr 43min
 

Movie Reviews

A Confusing Period of History Made Even More Confusing!
Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 01/18/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)

"'Si te dicen que caí' ('If they tell you I fell') aka AVENTIS is a very long film made in 1989 by Vicente Aranda based on the novel by Juan Marsé AVENTIS. Apparently 'aventis' are stories created by bored youths in post civil war Barcelona who try to explain historical events mixed liberally with fiction, fantasy, superhero characters, and smoldering sex. In this case the aventis are re-workings of the Spanish Civil War history, a time span than runs from 1936 to 1940 to 1970 to the present. To understand the progress of events would take a straightforward documentary: toss in the concept of 'aventis' as made up by youngsters and the storyline is impossible to follow.

Perhaps in another director's hands, one less associated with his own political leanings, this film concept could have worked. It does, after all, have a cast of some of Spain's finest actors - Victoria Abril, Antonio Banderas, Juan Diego Botto, Jorge Sanz, Javier Gurruchaga, Lluís Homar and many others less well known now. There are so many crosscurrent stories lines that keeping the characters straight is a major problem. We see Jorge Sanz as a paid performer in a brothel: he performs bizarre sexual acts with the very pregnant Victoria Abril to satisfy a voyeur customer peeking through the curtains, yet we also see Sanz and Abril as lovers. The rise and fall of Franco, the conflicts of WW II fascism, communism, democratic republic, and all the machinations of politics and subterfuge and heroism and death make such an odd stew that finally filters down to the death and autopsy of a prostitute by a disturbed doctor....it just goes on and on.

The film is just being released on DVD and the color transfer and quality of film suffer. But those are technical items than can be easily forgiven if the movie itself were more worth watching. Doubtless those viewers who are well grounded in Spanish history from 1936 - 1989 will get much more out of what is probably a fine parody of a country at odds with itself. But for the casual viewer, looking at the film as a piece of Latin surrealism would be the only reason to view it. In Spanish or dubbed English (bah!) with no subtitles as option offered. Running time 120 minutes! Grady Harp, January 07
"
A DIFFICULT, FASCINATING FILM
Grady Harp | 07/09/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, it is a difficult film, but it is only confusing if you don;t go with the flow and resist the chronological fragmentation. The stories involve the same characters at different points in the past and the present, and the viewer must provide the framework. Jorge Sanz deservedly won the Goya as best actor that year--bu the way, he gives Eduardo Noriega a run for his money in the looks department (inclkuding some frontal nudity). Victoria Abril is a truly protean actress--she plays three different roles in the movie. Banderas, thankfully, has only a minor role. Aranda is one of the best directors around!"