Featured Actress: Penelope Cruz - This fascinating 1998 Spanish comedy/drama covers a period that many prefer to forget, and from a perspective that many are unfamiliar with. Spain's Franco was aligned with Germany's Hitler, even as civil war brewed in his own country. During this time, a group of Spanish filmmakers travel to Berlin to film their version of a hit Andalusian musical.
Confronted with the realities of Nazi Germany, and treated as inferior by their German hosts regardless of being allies, the film company tries to cope while the leading lady falls in love with a German prisoner who is assigned to work as a movie extra.
With an interesting historical background, this effort includes good acting and a very well-written and sometimes amusing story. It is in Spanish, but the sub-titles don't detract from a very good movie. Oh, yeah, and Penelope Cruz gets naked, which helps even more.
