Ay, Carmela!

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Ay, Carmela!

PG-13

1990

1h 43m

Comedy

Drama

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3 Reviews

73%

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500+ Ratings

Carmela (Carmen Maura) and Paulino (Andrés Pajares) are entertainers during the Spanish Civil War. They travel the country with their young, mute sidekick, Gustavete (Gabino Diego), and perform for the Republican troops. They're also fiery patriots, which puts them in danger when they're captured by Franco's soldiers during their tour. But instead of death, they're sentenced to perform for their enemy, putting their loyalty on the line in the face of survival.

Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Ay! Carmela has a sense of spontaneity that jumps out of the screen as if she had invented herself from the start. [Full review in Spanish]

Aug 3, 2023

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jul 6, 2005

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James Sanford

Kalamazoo Gazette

Not Maura's best, but OK

Rated: 2/5

Jul 14, 2004

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Audience Member

An interesting and important movie but never really hits the spot.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Audience Member

A good film set in Spain in late 30s. The plot focuses on performers entertaining the Republican troops. On their way back from the front they take a wrong turn and end up in the Franco run territory and end up arrested. The film shows the sort of persecution people experienced during the Franco era, but does not lose it's sense of humor.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

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Audience Member

Reminded me of a not as good, but still okay, Spanish Life is Beautiful.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

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Audience Member

This was weird and boring at first, but I like it overall. Not too much to say about this one.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

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Audience Member

Le parcours d'une troupe theatrale peu politisee qui passe accidentellement de la zone republicaine a celle controlee par les militaires et Franco... Une tragi-comedie interessante sur fond de guerre civile espagnole...

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Audience Member

Media pelicula sin parar de llorar... Ay Carmela. De lo mejor que ha ofrecido el cine espaniol en los ultimos 20 anios

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

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Carlos Saura

Director

Carmen Maura

Carmela

Andrés Pajares

Paulino

Gabino Diego

Gustavete

Maurizio de Razza

Teniente Ripamonte

José Sancho

Capitán

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Synopsis

Carmela (Carmen Maura) and Paulino (Andrés Pajares) are entertainers during the Spanish Civil War. They travel the country with their young, mute sidekick, Gustavete (Gabino Diego), and perform for the Republican troops. They're also fiery patriots, which puts them in danger when they're captured by Franco's soldiers during their tour. But instead of death, they're sentenced to perform for their enemy, putting their loyalty on the line in the face of survival.

Director: Carlos Saura
Screenwriter: Rafael Azcona, Carlos Saura
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: European Spanish
Runtime: 1h 43m