1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating modern noir thriller from Spain, February 13, 2009
This review is from: The Yellow Fountain (La Fuente Amarilla) (DVD)
Lola (Silvia Abascal) is a young woman, recently orphaned when her Chinese mother and Spanish father were mysteriously murdered. Her first clue to whodunit comes before the opening credits when her Spanish boyfriend asks her if there is an act so horrible it cannot be forgiven. She responds that many things can be forgiven but, for her, only one thing is unforgivable. Her boyfriend hands her a business card for Wang Tian, proprietor of El Panda Feliz, Chinese restaurant. He then commits suicide before her eyes. The card, with a brief handwritten note on the back, is her first clue in tracking down her parents' killers.
As Lola travels through Madrid's Chinatown trying to locate the elusive Wang Tian she meets Sergio, a quirky young man with an obsession for documenting Madrid's Chinese residents whose names appear in newspaper articles and classified ads. He has been at this weird hobby for years and has amassed quite a database of names.
Noriega, the leading heartthrob of Spanish cinema, is brilliant as he plays against type as the stammering, introverted nerd who has made it his life's work to avoid getting close to people, especially women. Abascal is charming as the outgoing girl with street smarts who finds herself falling for him, and discovering undreamed of reserves of courage as she travels through Madrid's underworld of Chinese gangs and organized crime.
The dialog is in Spanish and Chinese. The DVD is bare bones with permanent English subtitles that cannot be turned off. There are no trailers or special features.
Highly recommended.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
foreign gem, July 11, 2002
This review is from: The Yellow Fountain (La Fuente Amarilla) (DVD)
I was totally engrossed by this movie from beginning to end. Time flew by with no distractions.This is the reason I buy foreign films sight unseen. You can discover gems like this. Silvia Abascal and Eduardo Noriega played beleviable and lovable characters that encounter many twists and turns in this engrossing thriller. It really has a gut-wrenching ending.I just wish there was more to the DVD besides the movie and chapters. Oh well thats why we have the internet. I loved this movie.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Sad Yellow Moon, November 1, 2006
This review is from: The Yellow Fountain (La Fuente Amarilla) (DVD)
This involving and poignant film from Spain is a refreshing change for those tired of the mindless action fare we are constantly bombarded with at the movies.
Lovely Silvia Abascal and Eduardo Noriega star in this subtle and complex action film with more depth than violence. Lola (Abascal) has lost her boyfriend to suicide and sets out on a quest to find the man responsible for her mother's murder. She is single-minded and fearless in her quiet quest. She meets Segio (Noriega) who has facts and files on missing Chinese and passports that lead her in the right direction. Unfortunately, that direction points to the head of a Chinese Triad, and the man who once kept her mother, Li San, until she chose to fly away.
It is the relationship of Lola and Sergio which is at the heart of this film, however. Sergio is shy, and afraid to reach out of his world and be hurt. He believes that like the bird he keeps in a cage, he is happy in his isolation. Turning away from the advances of the sad but pretty Lola at first, the two form a deeper bond.
Sergio will spend almost the entire film trying to talk Lola out of her quest and her gun. When affection finally forces Sergio from his cage, however, and he chooses to reach out like the bird flying from his cage, love blooms and sets in motion tragedy. Lola will be taken by the same man who was her mother's keeper and it will be the timid Segio who is forced to take Lola's gun in an effort to save her and have the life he has finally reached out for.
The violence is kept to a minimum yet somehow more real and moving because of its sudden intrusion on the lives of Lola and Sergio. Lola will have an opportunity to choose her own course. Her decision, however, made in the blink of an eye, will cost her more than she had imagined.
This is simply a terrific film from Spain which has a more subtle and deeply felt ending than most action films. Lola's success will lead to tragedy and the viewer will know in their hearts what choice she makes afterward as she is beckoned by her real love to drink from the yellow fountain.
Silvia Abascal and Eduardo Noriega are marvelous here and you will be moved by the film's ending. Those fond of foreign films will find a diamond among the rocks with this one.
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