The Red Squirrel (Julio Medem)

[Psychocandy]

There are a number of shops in Glasgow (the nearest big city to the town I live in) that sell second hand DVDs. Sometimes you can pick up some cracking bargains. It was during my monthly trawl of these stores that I picked up Julio Medem's The Red Squirrel for £5.00. I could remember reading about it somewhere and thinking it sounded intriguing. It's not terribly often that I start watching a movie without knowing a considerable amount of information about it beforehand. So watching The Red Squirrel for the first time was quite refreshing as I knew absolutely zero about the plot. I hadn't even read the blurb on the back cover. What I discovered was a very odd and vaguely disturbing little love story. Beautifully filmed and wonderfully acted with a script that is full of surprises it has since become on of my favorite movies irrespective of it's country of origin. Has anyone seen this? Did it intrigue you and demand your complete attention the way it did me? Has anyone seen any of Medem's other movies? How do they compare? I'm interested in seeing more of his movies. I think Sex & Lucia will perhaps be my next port of call. Oh...and the actress in this movie (Emma Suarez) was very beautiful. I couldn't take my eyes off her.

[jlovborg]

Julio Medem is one of my favorite directors, he should be better known. His films got everything I love about cinema, they're mesmerizing, mysterious, magical, erotic, romantic, hilarious, beautiful... I think Tierra is his masterpiece, and one of the pinnacles of 90s cinema. I love Red Squirrel, too. The Lovers of Arctic Circle and Sex and Lucia aren't quite that great IMO, but must-sees nevertheless.

And, yes, Emma Suarez is absolutely gorgeous. She's in Tierra as well.

[Damned Martian]

La Ardilla Roja has the merit of being the one movie that made me interest in spanish cinema (and yes, i'm spanish... you should see some of the films that don't get outdoors...:eek: ). It's all you've said: magical, intriguing, misterous, romantic, funny... Medem is the closest we have to David Lynch.
If you liked it, you should also like Sex and Lucia, which IMO is the best spanish film i've seen. Didn't like Tierra much, but i wasn't in the mood for it when i saw it. And i tried to catch several times Los Amantes del Circulo Polar, but it has been impossible (once i taped it, but a time later i forgot about it and taped in the same tape, damn!:mad: )