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No News From God

Play trailer No News From God R Released Aug 22, 2003 1h 55m Comedy Drama Fantasy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
38% Tomatometer 29 Reviews 66% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
When angel Lola (Victoria Abril) is sent to ensure that mortal prizefighter Manny (Bruno Bichir) makes virtuous decisions so he can find his way into heaven, hell's administrator Jack Davenport (Gael García Bernal) decides to enlist his alluring operative Carmen (Penélope Cruz) to win the boxer's soul for the sake of evil. Soon, Manny is unwittingly caught up in a holy battle, as Lola hopes to help him make the most of his time on earth, while Carmen tries to tempt him into sinful misdeeds.
No News From God

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Critics Consensus

More Hellish than it is Heavenly, Agustín Díaz Yanes' black comedy about the Earthly duel between two angels doesn't have enough genuine laughs to support its far-fetched premise.

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Critics Reviews

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Andrew Sarris Observer It's all harmless fun, I suppose, and mercifully free of all the cant usually associated with fantasies of Heaven and Hell. Sep 26, 2003 Full Review Ellen Fox Chicago Tribune Manny is so uninteresting as a pivotal character that he's a black hole who sucks away our investment in the film. Rated: 1.5/4 Sep 4, 2003 Full Review Jami Bernard New York Daily News A sultry, pretty thing with a few good ideas: in other words, stuck in limbo. Rated: 2/4 Aug 27, 2003 Full Review Scott Nash Three Movie Buffs Rated: 4/4 Sep 30, 2005 Full Review Brent Simon Now Playing Magazine Bendito Infierno's characters crack and pop off the screen; you're caught up in their tussle even as you acknowledge its artificiality. Rated: B- Feb 4, 2005 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...undoubtedly a silly premise, but writer/director Agustin Diaz Yanes imbues the film with enough style and humor to keep things interesting. Rated: 2.5/4 Feb 18, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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vicenç p Never understood the hate against this movie. It's a nice, surrealistic tale, with a great performance by Penelope Cruz. It was just so interesting to watch and really entertaining! Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member In Heaven, the last ten years have been tough-Hell has been winning the battle between Good and Evil. The managers of Heaven receive a request by a mother to save her son's soul and see the possibility of winning the soul of a boxer named Many (Demián Bichir) as an opportunity to shift the balance of power. Although Many is severely in debt and is even thinking of suicide, Lola (Victoria Abril), an angel, is sent to Earth to take over the role of the boxer's wife. To counter this, Hell's manager Jack Davenport (Gael García Bernal) decides to send one of his more troublesome agents, Carmen (Penélope Cruz), who was a male ex-gangster punished by being converted into a female waitress, to fight back by impersonating Many's cousin. Though it starts out as a simple fight between heaven and hell for the soul of one man, a conspiracy in Hell and conflicting emotions interrupt the war between saints and sinners. Suddenly Many's soul becomes increasingly important and his weakened physical state creates a deadline by which he must go to Hell or Heaven. It´s the job of the supernatural agents to tempt or save Many... "Don't Tempt Me" (Spanish: "Bendito Infierno", also known as "Sin noticias de Dios" in Spanish and "No News From God" in English) is a 2001 Mexican and Spanish co-production comedy film. The screenplay for the film was written especially for Penélope Cruz and Victoria Abril. Spain´s movie industry is dear to me and I have had some really good film moments when watching spanish movies. I saw "Don't Tempt Me" when it came out and just resaw it. I reckon my opinion about this movie is maybe a bit different now. The storyline is there, the battle between good/evil - Hell/Heaven, but I think that the Heaven and Hell environments/ mood/settings and characters could´ve been much more colourful and maybe a bit more over the top to make this really work. The result now is a bit blend. Victoria Abril and Penélope Cruz are two strong actresses with added beauty and does a pretty good job as Lola and Carmen, but they still don´t manage to really lift the movie as high as I think they could´ve. "Don't Tempt Me" is ok, but hardly a classic spanish flick with a powerful colour palette in my point of view. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member a peculiar plot but quite interesting.. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie is sorounded by a good cast and a very interesting story.It was provoking and just all around interesting,not to mention Penelope Cruz is very hot,and Gael Garcia is always great at what he does best,and has a lot of back story that it leaves up to your imagination.So for that being said I gave this film a B-. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member A bit long but not bad. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Interesting plot, great performances, but many other movies I'd want you to see first. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Read all reviews
No News From God

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis When angel Lola (Victoria Abril) is sent to ensure that mortal prizefighter Manny (Bruno Bichir) makes virtuous decisions so he can find his way into heaven, hell's administrator Jack Davenport (Gael García Bernal) decides to enlist his alluring operative Carmen (Penélope Cruz) to win the boxer's soul for the sake of evil. Soon, Manny is unwittingly caught up in a holy battle, as Lola hopes to help him make the most of his time on earth, while Carmen tries to tempt him into sinful misdeeds.
Director
Agustín Díaz Yanes
Producer
Eduardo Campoy, Gerardo Herrero
Screenwriter
Agustín Díaz Yanes
Distributor
First Look
Production Co
Tornasol Films S.A.
Rating
R (Language|Some Violence|Sexual Content)
Genre
Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Original Language
European Spanish
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 22, 2003, Wide
Release Date (DVD)
Feb 17, 2004
Box Office (Gross USA)
$77.3K
Runtime
1h 55m
Sound Mix
Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)