Goya's Ghosts 2006  R, 114 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Milos Forman
Cast: Javier Bardem, Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgard, Randy Quaid, Blanca Portillo, Michael Lonsdale, Jose Luis Gomez, Mabel Rivera, Craig Stevenson, Julian Wadham, Simon Andreu, Jack Taylor, David Calder
In 18th-century Spain during the Inquisition, painter Francisco Goya (Stellan Skarsgard) is working on a portrait of the archconservative Brother Lorenzo and, at the same time, is painting a portrait of one of his favorite models, Ines (Natalie Portman). After Ines is arrested on suspicion of being a Jew, she is thrown into prison where she is tortured and then raped by Lorenzo. Her father Tomas (Jose Luis Gomez) begs Goya to intercede. But Goya, who is terrified of the Church, will only stand on the sidelines unwilling to help. Fifteen years later, Napoleon (Craig Stevenson) and his army "liberate" Spain, and Lorenzo is now Napoleon's prosecutor. Ines is set free from prison and tells Lorenzo that they have a daughter. Lorenzo declares Ines insane, institutionalizes her, and sets out to find the daughter. Once again, Goya watches helplessly from the sidelines.
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The Orphanage 2007  R, 100 min.
Genre: Foreign / Horror / Mystery / Thriller
Director: Juan Antonio Bayona
Cast: Belen Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Princep, Mabel Rivera, Geraldine Chaplin, Andres Gertrudix, Edgar Vivar, Oscar Casas, Mireia Renau, Georgina Avellaneda, Carla Gordillo Alicia, Carmen Lopez, Montserrat Carulla
In this good, Spanish ghost story, Laura (Belen Rueda) is happily married to Carlos (Fernando Cayo) and has a seven-year-old adopted boy, Simon (Roger Princep). Laura also was adopted from an orphanage, and now she wants to open the now-abandoned orphanage as a home for handicapped children. The family moves in, and Simon enjoys his new home, cavorting with imaginary friends. But Simon disappears, and after months of anguish, Laura brings in Aurora (Geraldine Chaplin), a medium, to gather clues as to what happened to Simon. The answers may rest with Laura's own past in this frightening film.
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The Sea Inside 2004 PG-13, 125 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Alejandro Amenabar
Cast: Javier Bardem, Belen Rueda, Lola Duenas, Mabel Rivera, Celso Bugallo, Clara Sugura, Joan Dalmau, Alberto Jimenez, Tamar Novas, Francesc Garrido, Josep Maria Pou, Andrea Occhipinti, Alberto Amarilla, Federico Perez Rey, Nicolas Fernandez Luna
Spaniard Ramon Sampedro was paralyzed during a diving accident and spent the next 30 years as a quadriplegic. This film depicts his real-life battle with family and the court system to grant him the right of euthanasia. The film received an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and was nominated for one other.
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| 1. Goya's Ghosts (2006)
2. The Orphanage (2007)
3. The Sea Inside (2004)
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