Solo quiero caminar (2008) Reviews

• Just Walking...And Running

  Chrysanthepop2010-01-19

  Agustín Díaz Yanes's 'Solo Quiero Caminar' is an interesting thriller that centres around four women who are thieves and best friends (two of them are sisters). What I like about these four characters is that even though their ways of getting what they want may not be considered decent (they use sex as a weapon and means of exchange), they are undoubtedly courageous and strong. Yanes's screenplay works very well with the right mix of dark humour and intensity. However, the pacing is a little slow and the film slightly lacks in style. The right style always helps in enjoying a good action film. What really works in its favour are the performances by the four lead actresses: Victoria Abril, Ariadna Gil, Pilar López de Ayala and Elena Anaya are each terrific in their parts. Diego Luna is solid as right hand man Gabriel. 'Solo Quiero Caminar' does have a musical feel to it. The Spanish and Mexican locations are captured well. The special effects department has also done a fine job. Overall, it's an enjoyable film where one gets to see women with action but these are far from the usual action heroines. Yanes gives them a touch of humanity by showing a more human, vulnerable side and that's where it succeeds.

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• Violent and exciting , but overlong thriller , with a phenomenal cast formed by great Spanish and Mexican actors

  ma-cortes2017-07-19

  This moving picture results to be a violent thriller with a top drawer star-studded cast and the support cast is equally awesome . However , this ¨Solo Quiero Caminar¨ failed at Spanish box office . Four women carry out a risked hold-up , they are : Aurora (Ariadna Gil) , her sister Ana (Elena Anaya) , Gloria (Victoria Abril) and Paloma (Pilar López De Ayala) . But Aurora is detained and incarcerated and her accomplices are outside . As Ana is an unfortunate whore who suffers distresses , that's why she accepts the marriage proposal of Felix (José María Yazpik) , a Mexican gangster . She moves with him to live in Mexico . Meanwhile , Gloria (Victoria Abril) receives a phone call from Mexico City ; it's Ana (Elena Anaya) who wants her friend to visit her . Her husband's business dealings are very profitable and she has been thinking ; there's work to be done . Aurora finishes her stretch in prison and Paloma (Pilar López Ayala) goes to collect her ; they have a flight to catch ; Madrid to Mexico ; Ana and Gloria are waiting . While , from her golden cage at a luxurious mansion , between the alcohol and her husband's beatings , the drunken Ana has planned a plot to rob her hubby and his gang led by Gabriel (Diego Luna) . As Four women scheme a risked strike against a bunch of Mexican drug traffickers to rob the safe box plenty of money from lucrative business . A double strike : cash and vengeance , and for this reason Ana has called on her friends' help . Together the four women are ready for their lucky strike! The film deals with four women for whom so far life has not been easy , they star a dark story of vengeance and redemption , about heaven and hell . It stunned audiences and critics by its violence and by the dark story of revenge . Rightly enjoyable and fun-filled , milestone thriller which neatly combines intense drama , noisy action , grisly killings , sexual scenes , and twisted situations . The complex screenplay manages a lot of thrills from the audience and twisted elements that you never loose your attention from the film . Director Diaz Yanes being inspired by filmmakers like Martin Scorsese , Paul Schrader and Sam Peckinpah , whom pays tribute at some scenes from ¨Wild bunch¨. The only flaw I can find is that some of the story lines are overwhelmingly absurd and some character arcs end up being implausible . Some situations are loudly ridiculous and the heists proceed at a breakneck speed but sometimes falls flat . This one turns out to be a flawless and nail-biting story full of twists and turns with a quartet of sensational protagonists . Pay attention as one duo of Spanish actors very well played by Elena Anaya and Pilar López Ayala alternate with the other pair of older players perfectly performed by Victoria Abril and Ariadna Gil . They are accompanied by two great Mexican actors : Diego Luna as Gabriel a killer who falls for Aurora and José María Yazpik as the dangerous and powerful Mexican drug trafficker Félix . I liked everyone in the excellent cast, and the male and female actors , they were all very attractive . As the magnificent cast is frankly top-notch , as the hit of the show is undoubtedly for Ariadna Gil as Aurora who is serving a prison sentence for a robbery that went wrong ; Elena Anaya as Ana , a prostitute who likes money and marries a mobster and subsequently designs a dangerous plan to hit back at husband's safe . Special mention for Victoria Abril who gives one of the best screen acting as Gloria Duque , who was the main character of the movie ¨Nadie Hablará De Nosotros Cuando Estés Muerto¨ . It packs colorful and adequate cinematography by Paco Femenia . Atmospheric and appropriate musical score by Javier Limón , full of Andalucian music and catching songs . Agustin Diaz Yanes' return to top form , with an intelligent and engaging script which uses stirring situations to give us a good movie in fast pace , entertaining events , plot twists and that kept me entertained for the almost two hours and some of duration . Diaz Yanes is a fine craftsman , in 1990 he was assistant to director Pedro Almodovar in the shooting of "Atame" played by Spanish stars Antonio Banderas and Victoria Abril . Thanks to his reputation as screenwriter and the support of Victoria Abril he was able to set up his first film as director: "Nobody Will Speak of Us When We're Dead " that became the greatest hit of Spanish cinema at its release in 1995 and the Festival San Sebastian , including best actress to Victoria Abril and won 8 awards from the Spanish academy , Goyas ,including best film, best new director, and best actress . In spite of the success of his first movie, Diaz Yanes spent a few years trying to make a new picture, titled "Madrid Sur", a science-fiction movie set up in the capital of Spain, but was unable to make it due to financial problems . In 2001 , he was able to feature together the two most international Spanish actresses in his second movie "Sin Noticias De Dios" a fantastic comedy that received 11 nominations for the Spanish Academy awards , including best picture and director, but disappointed many of the fans of his first movie . In March 2006, he shot his third movie "Capitán Alatriste", an adaptation of Arturo Perez Reverte's best-seller , being successful at box office . And in post-production ¨Oro¨.

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• Pulp Fiction meets Ocean's Twelve

  littlelovephobia2009-08-22

  "Solo quiero caminar" is the sequel to the critically acclaimed and multi-Goya winner (spanish academy awards) "Nobody Will Speak of Us When We're Dead" (Nadie hablará con nosotras cuando hayamos muerto). Gloria Duque (Victoria Abril), the star of the first movie commands a four-women gang who commit robbery, but something goes wrong and one of them called Aurora (Ariadna gil)ends in prison. Félix (José María Yaspik) is a Mexican gangster who wants to do some business in Spain. Gabriel (Diego Luna) is his hit-man, a cold-hearted guy who is very good at shooting people with a gun, but he has one classic rule, no women and no children. While doing business in Spain, Felix meets Ana, a prostitute from the four-women gang and ask her to marry him. Felix beats Ana and then Ana wants her friends to help her get revenge. That's the basic premise from "Solo quiero caminar". Make no mistake, the main characters here are the ones played by Diego Luna and Ariadna Gil's as Aurora, Ana's sister. Victoria Abril is no longer the main character but it's still relevant The film has outstanding performances from Luna and Yaspik. Pilar López de Ayala is very good and the other actors are good as well. In general, a very good cast, even the singer Manuel Mijares appears singing his classic song "Soldado del amor". You can expect some very violent scenes. Some of us may compare it to the gangster films of Tarantino or Guy Ritchie but as Agustín Díaz Yanes first effort, it lacks the type of humour or irony those other directors have, Yañez is a little bit more serious about it and while there is some little comic relief, you won't find that much. In fact, the film is very violent at some points and with very little dialog at others. It does has some nods to the first film, but is not necessary to watch it to understand what happens here. This is a whole different story with the same style as the first film, but yet different. The kind of nods you will appreciate if you saw the first movie, specially the return of Ana Ofelia Murguía as Doña Amelia, but nothing more. While not as good or interesting as the first one, it does have a better direction, and amazing use of the camera, and a whole technical improvement over "Nobody".

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• Thriller

  kosmasp2009-11-04

  Apparently this is a sort of a sequel, as I just read from another review here on IMDb. I didn't know that and I haven't watched the other movie. I watched this as a standalone and I think it works pretty good too. It has great Spanish actors, it has great cinematography and it has nice twists. The movie does not differ that much between good and bad characters (you could say, that everyone has both sides more or less), but still manages to develop them neatly. I really like those twisted little movies and this one didn't disappoint (quite the contrary). Of course not everybody will love it as much as I do, but if you like thrillers that are a bit bleak and dark too, then you won't go wrong with this one.

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