A brooding and engaging Spanish film about a company of unfortunate comedians showing their theatrical skills along Spain. The young actress Ana Ruiz (Elisa Galvé) is part of the comedy company of Carmen Soler (Rosario Garcia Ortega) and Antonio Salas (Mariano Asquerino) on continuous tour through Spain. Her acting calling is so strong that she prefers to give up the love of her partner Miguel Solis (Fernando Rey) and puts her success before the love. But once the lead role is given to another actress, she rethinks the situation, before leaving her job. When the company decides to release "Heaven is not far" written by Ernesto Sánchez Blasco (Rafael Alonso), Ana hopes to get the leading role.
An attractive and agreeable movie about the world of actors who represent theatrical works with their humble companies throughout the towns of Spain. Many years later Fernando Fernán Gómez would also discuss the world of traveling actors in ¨Viaje a ninguna parte¨, they are ¨Cómicos de la Legua¨, whose main representation was Federico García Lorca and his 'Barraca´ company. After co-directing ¨Esa Pareja Feliz¨ with Luis Garcia Berlanga, screenwriter and director Bardem delivers his knowledge of the theatrical world due to being the son of comedians Rafael Bardem and Matilde Muñoz Sampedro who plays a bit role and the famous North American production ¨All About Eve¨(1950) by Joseph L. Mankiewicz to make his first solo film. If Eve Harrignton/Anne Baxter is a careerist who uses all kinds of tricks to succeed on Broadway, Ana Ruiz/Elisa Galvé is also a young actress trying to make her way but in the sordid post-war theatrical world with its usual economic hardships and living in miserable boarding-houses. What Bardem narrates is his professional awareness, adding own self-biographic elements, so he directs a decent movie dealing with a family theatrical company whose existence gets very hard for them, being told with the help of the voice-over of Ana Ruiz herself and through an effective set of close-ups. With the passage of time, it has become an excellent document on the environment of the Spanish scenario at the time and its dogmatic side has been attenuated to the point of almost disappearing, replaced by a certain moralism. Considered to be one of the best films of its author, highlighting some magnificent scenes such as the initial presentation of the company that travels at night from one city to another, the night of the premiere of the new comedy and the spontaneous appearance of Ana on the scene while representing the play. Elisa Galvé or Christian Galvé plays pretty well as Ana Ruiz, a young actress who works in a traveling theater company, performing only small roles, but she hopes to succeed. In ¨Cómicos¨stands out a stunning, veteran support cast , such as: Fernando Rey, Emma Penella, Mariano Asquerino, Rosario García Ortega, Rafael Alonso, Carlos Casaravilla, Manuel Alexandre, Manuel Arbó, Arturo Marín, Matilde Muñoz Sampedro, Manuel Guitián, Aníbal Vela and Bardem himself briefly appears as a stagehand.
For purely economic reasons Bardem is forced to write and direct ¨Varietes¨ (1970), a new version in the service of the actress and singer Sara Montiel that lacks appeal and is a lack of respect towards his first film. Craftsman director Bardem was a fine writer and director, an uneven filmmaker who either directed very good movies or mediocre ones or even terrible flicks. Bardem was an outspoken critic of the Franco regime, his political views prevented him from gaining a diploma from the Spanish cinema institute in 1954. Thereafter, he worked as a critic and finally broke into films as writer/director of the much acclaimed ¨Death of a cyclist¨ or Muerte De un Ciclista (1955), which won the 1956 Cannes International Critics Award . Other classic films he wrote or directed are the following ones: ¨Bienvenido Mr. Marshall¨ (co-directed by Luis Garcia Berlanga) , ¨Esa Pareja Feliz¨, ¨Comicos¨ , ¨Sonatas¨, ¨La Venganza¨, among others . Rating: 7/10. Above average, essential and indispensable seeing for Spanish cinema fans .
