snauth ... I really love Medem's ability to cast feelings in apparently simple pictures. These takes are truly highly compressed miniatures of human behavior in our days. The problem with the squirrel under discussion here is that it is way too much 1980s when we talk about style and too much 1899s when we want say something about the message. Sure, Medem takes himself the freedom to picture sinister cravings and fears, but after some 100 years of psychoanalysis (also in the arts and humanities) this is less brave than it once was. These women, yes they really make us shudder from fear, since they might only fake their submission. However, that cannot really touch me.Are you afraid of women who know what they want, that are not created by you?

alexanderjallan This is rare one. I never see films this good anymore (maybe Bodies Rest and Motion is comparable in the watchability and entertainment value of this film. The story is unique, Jay gets close to ending his own life but is interrupted by a motorcyclist flying through the air onto the beach. She has amnesia, he pretends to be her long standing boyfriend, she has no choice but to go along with it, right? A seriously clever and duplicidous female lead Emma Suarez goes off with him. Never a dull moment, of course I do love listening to foreign langauges- quite an incentive in this film perhaps. The music is really good and perfect for the mood of the film including the constant reference to his former bands main song and his past love. That bit towards the end with the car stunt is hilarious. I wish they made more films like this (maybe they do, I don't know, terrestrial TV doesn't show many foreign films unfortunately).

nicobeuk This movie was a unique experience for me: I entered the cinema during the 2nd minute when Emma Suarez just crashes with her motorcycle and was immediately absorbed by it. A magical intriguing story unravels in which the plot seems to be important; actually the process of your thinking while watching this movie is more important, guided by powerful images and sounds. Julio Medem proves to fit in the Spanish tradition of storytellers using slightly distorted or original images that refer to very basic and elemental issues like nature, earth, food and sex and suggesting supernatural events. Reviewing the movie with the knowledge that Julio Medem studied medicine before becoming a director adds to insight in the script. If Hitchcock had been still living he would definitely approve of the romantic atmosphere of this thriller!! The three actors playing the main characters also appear in Medems other movies, which in itself starts to form a magic oeuvre. La ardilla Roja, or "the red squirrel" received many prizes at a number of film festivals, including the Prix de la Jeunesse at the Cannes Film Festival. I only regret that Julio Medem himself hasn't been playing a character in one of his own films, because he is one of the most handsome men I've ever seen: beating Banderas with a street length!!

Phroggy Yours truly has seen lots and lots of movie, but very few impressed me with sheer intelligence as this one - a gem where you feel every single shot has its real meaning and, more important, the filmmaker think his audience is clever enough to understand what's going on without having it rammed in his/her face. When you only know the title and doesn't know a thing about the plot (as I did when I saw this one at the Gérardmer film festival), you feel stunned, aghast, thrilled, surprised, and then you settle for the ride. Comedy, wit, intelligence (again), romance, mystery, emotion, this one has everything that makes us love movie. Unless you only want special effects and billion-dollars no-brainers, I can't see how this movie can fail to ignite passion. If there actually is justice in this world, Julio Medem will someday be recognised as maybe the most underrated filmmaker of our times - and he hasn't said his last word yet. A masterpiece to be enjoyed again… and again… and again