La Ternura

A Queen and her two princess daughters travel with the Invincible Armada, obliged by Philip II to wed them English noblemen in arranged marriages once the invasion of England is done and dusted. To prevent the arranged wedding of her daughters (Alexandra Jimenez, Anna Moliner), the queen and magician Esmeralda (Emma Súarez) invokes a storm that sinks the ship they live on and transports them to an apparently deserted island, far from any man who restricts their freedom. However, what they do not know is that, for twenty years, a woodcutter (Gonzalo de Castro) and his two sons (Fernando Guallar, Carlos Cuevas) have lived there, willing to live forever without women.

A battle of the sexes with plenty of messes led by Emma Súarez and Gonzalo de Castro is the center of this period romantic comedy, set on a desert island, which adapts the successful play of the same name by playwright Alfredo Sanzol, to which the film's director Vicente Villanueva defined it as a Spanish-style 'Shakespereare in love'. Amusing , funny and very cheerful film filled with emotion, hilarious set-pieces, tongue-in-cheek and lots of humor; however, the result is average .

In La ternura(2023) there are changes of identity, magic, disguises, falling in love, deception, spells and endless entanglements, all of them have a place in this original comedy, a tribute to Elizabethan theater, which makes reference to great works of Shakespeare such as "The Tempest", "Night of kings¨ or ¨A midsummer night's dream¨.

This is an ensemble film in which all the actors give sympathetic performances. Starring veterans Emma Súarez (70 binladens, Julieta) , and Gonzalo de Castro (Doctor Mateo, ? Para qué sirve un oso¿) , alongside these actors with long careers appear the following: Alexandra Jimenez (Bajo Terapia), Fernando Guallar (El Juego de las Llaves), Carlos Cuevas (Merli) and Anna Moliner (¨El cuerpo en Llamas¨)

Here stands out the sunny and colorful cinematography by cameraman Luis Ángel Pérez, shot on wonderful beach location in Dominican Republic. It packs a lively and catching musical score by Fernando Velázquez, although somewhat intrusive and crushing. Nominated for best makeup and hairstyling at the Goya 2024, this motion picture was mediocrely directed by Vicente Villanueva. He is a good artisan , writer, producer and filmmaker, who has directed shorts as Eres, Heteroxesuales y casados, and a few films such as ¨Lo contrario al amor¨, ¨Sevillanas de Brooklyn¨ with Carolina Yuste and ¨Born to win with¨ con Alejandra Jimenez and Victoria Abril , being ¨TOC TOC¨ his greatest hit. Rating : 5/10. Only for Spanish comedy enthusiasts.