Customer Reviews

Colegas (Pals) [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This movie is a candid study of contemporary teen friendships set in Spain. Antonio and Jose have been the best friends for most of their eighteen years. They've drifted into a jobless lifestyle of the young-in-waiting for a future.
*When Antonio's sister discovers that she's pregnant by Jose, a chain of events is set in motion. While she's trying to decide over her options of keeping the child, abortion, or adoption sale, the friends engage in street hustling and drug running to raise money to pay for her decision.
*This is all balanced against the friend's relationship with their respective families; mostly with Jose's brothers open sexuality and his parent's disapproval of his friends. The ending has a good and a tragic outcome for both friends.
*I highly recommend purchasing this movie because of its believable and sympathetic characters, which we can draw parallels to in our American culture.

COLEGAS
(Spain, 1982) Director: Eloy de la Iglesia. Cast: José Luis Manzano, Antonio Gonzalez. COlor. Running time: 117 minutes. Spanish with English subtitles. Full frontal nudity. Unrated.
Two best friends are forced into street hustling and an ever-expanding life of crime when one impregnates the sister of the other. Directed and co-authored by Spain's most outspoken filmmaker, COLEGAS features fast pacing, sympathetic characters, harsh language and abundant male nudity.

I must admit that I love European movies a great deal because most of them rely on story and acting rather than special effects. This was a devastating story of young people facing some extremely difficult situations. They brought them on themselves by wrong decisions, but they live in an environment that certainly makes the punishment for their actions even worse. I loved the movie, and have watched it several times.

Colegas is provocative with believable and sympathetic characters and provides insight into the lives of young boys entering manhood.