El camino de los ingleses

A nostalgic coming-of-age tale charting a group of friends on vacation at the end of the 1970s, including friendship, sex, love, adventures and misfortunes. Miguelito Dávila (Alberto Amarilla) is a young man from Málaga who has just had a kidney removed, which forces him to spend a long time in the hospital. There he meets a cultured man who introduces him to poetry and makes him reconsider leaving his job in a small hardware store to be a poet. Once he leaves the hospital, Miguelito begins the transition from innocence to adult life, embarking on the journey with his friends: Paco Frontón (Félix Gómez) who falls in love for La Cuerpo (Marta Nieto) and the violent Babirusa (Raúl Arévalo). Including some events that will prove crucial in his life with experiences that will reach the limit . Miguelito begins a relationship with Luli (María Ruiz), a beautiful girl whom he deeply loves and in which an older man, Cardona (Antonio Garrido) is interested, and he also starts a relationship with a teacher (Victoria Abril). Following the right path only depends on him.

A coming-of-age story depicting lives of a group of teens, who during the summer experience with mutual camaraderie, the first loves, lusts, obsession, sex, comradeship and violence. Adaptation of the same name from the novel by Málaga writer Antonio Soler, who also wrote the script for the second film directed by actor Banderas, his first was ¨Crazy in Alabama´. But while ¨Crazy in Alabama¨, starring his then wife Melanie Griffith, was a decent film, this ¨El camino de los ingleses¨ result to be mediocre and uneven, including ridiculous situations and a pretty bad filming.

The film was nominated for two Goya awards: best new actor (Alberto Amarilla) and best adapted script (Antonio Soler) and won the Label Europa Cinemas award at the Cine Festival in Berlin.

Among its protagonists appear the youngsters: Alberto Amarilla (Princesas, Mar adentro), Raul Arevalo (La isla mínima), Félix Gómez (Carlos rey emperador) , María Ruiz (Paquirri) and Marta Nieto (Madre). Completing the casting, veterans as Victoria Abril (Tirant Le Blanc), Cuca Escribano (Mapa de la geografia humana), Antonio Garrido (Zona Hostil) and Juan Diego (Vete de mi).

In ¨El camino de los ingleses¨ excels the colorful cinematography by Xavi Giménez and the second unit director of photography was made by another prestigious cameraman, Oscar Faura. As well as the sensitive and attractive musical score by Antonio Meliveo, including catching songs. The motion picture was averagely directed by Antonio Banderas and I think that it includes some autobiographical elements from his native Malaga. Rating: 4.5/10. A so-so film that turns out to be a little tiring and boring.