Do Not See: The Oxford Murders
by Ben Curtis
We were really looking forward to this film. It’s set in the town I grew up in (there’s a clue in the title), has a pretty good cast (John Hurt, Elijah Wood, Leonor Watling) and is directed by Alex de la Iglesia, who so perfectly depicted the horrors of living in a Madrid apartment building in La Comunidad.
So, what went wrong? Here are the top 3 disasters:
- With the exception of John Hurt, who can probably act his way out of the worst script on earth, all of the performances were painfully flat.
- The script is almost certainly to blame for this. I suspect it started out in Spanish… and that Google Translator may have come up with the final English version.
- We weren’t allowed to work a thing out for ourselves. Every painful twist in the plot (people die, mathematical series may hold the key) had to be deliberately explained.
With the exception of young men who probably feel that seeing Leonor Watling in nothing but a kitchen apron is worth the price of admission alone (and Alex de la Iglesia may have been banking on this), there really is nothing to recommend this film at all. What a shame. It had all the makings of the kind of blockbuster that could have added a little shine to Spain’s spiraling film industry.
(God it’s hard writing film reviews at midnight on a Sunday night… I wish South of Watford had seen it first then I could have just linked to one of his great reviews instead! Still, I hope you get the message. The film was pretty crap. Apart from the apron scene. But don’t tell Marina I said that.)
What’s your all-time favourite, or worst, film from Spain?
Posted: January 28th, 2008 under Film, Spanish Culture and News.
Comments: 15
Comments
Comment from MMAPredictions
Time: January 28, 2008, 6:35 am
Hey Ben!
I loved La Comunidad (too bad I can’t find it on Netflix to watch again), although I think Todo Sobre Mi Madre has to be my favorite. Hable Con Ella was great too.
Caleb
Comment from Parubin
Time: January 28, 2008, 9:34 am
Go and see ‘In the Valley Of Elah’ instead.
Not Spanish at all, by the way.
Comment from Brendan
Time: January 28, 2008, 9:58 am
Thanks for the heads up regarding Oxford!
Favourite Spanish movie, Agree with Caleb Todo Sobre Mi Madre by Pedro Almodovar is a great movie and also by Pedro, Tacones Lejanos and of course Mar Adentro by Alejandro Amenábar with Javier Bardem.
Not forgeting Belle Epoque by Fernando Trueba is any young mans dream…!
Worst Spanish movies…I’ll get back to you…
Comment from Andrew
Time: January 28, 2008, 10:43 am
Murder, mathematics and Wittgenstein - ummm; all sounds a bit contrived but I’ll give the book a go first and then maybe try the film.
Best Spanish film: Hable con ella
Worst: can’t split Mar adentro / La mala educación
Comment from Graeme
Time: January 28, 2008, 10:44 am
Oh no, and it was top of my list for going to see as well! I think I’ll still have to go. The problem with Alex de la Iglesia is that his films are very variable in quality, but I had high hopes for this one. La Comunidad is close to the top of my list of favourite Spanish films, virtually anything by Alejandro Amenábar is there, Fernando Leon (Los Lunes al Sol) or Iciar Bollain (Te Doy Mis Ojos) are also good representatives of the new Spanish cinema.
The worst films is a tough one, although Almodovar contributes one candidate for me. Carne Tremula is one of the very few films I haven’t been able to watch to the end because it is soooo bad. Another candidate, which many people loved, Los Amantes del Circulo Polar by Julio Medem.
Comment from Ben
Time: January 28, 2008, 11:30 am
@Graeme - please do go and see it, I want to know what you think!
@Andrew - La Mala Educacion was indeed poor.
One film I really enjoyed this week was ‘Into the Wild’ directed by Sean Penn. Great stuff.
Comment from ValenciaSon
Time: January 28, 2008, 2:59 pm
I may have to go see this “apron” movie. 
Comment from C
Time: January 28, 2008, 4:46 pm
Volver really captured the essence of old pueblo Spain. It’s one of my favourite Almodovar films
Of de la Iglesia’s films, 800 balas is not a high-brow piece of work was very enjoyable. A classic tale of cowboys and indians, with property developers as the baddies and the cowboys of the Almarian filmsets as the goodies.
Amongst my all time favourites has got to be the two early 90’s crackers from Bigas Luna - Jamon, Jamon and Huevas d’Oro.
Comment from richardksa
Time: January 28, 2008, 11:59 pm
Why didn’t I listen? I went to see the Oxford Murders tonight and thought the whole thing very contrived. The plot was dire and the final explanation (as if we needed it) insulting. I am in full agreement with Ben regarding the acting, even to thinking that John Hurt seemed a little embarrassed in the final scene in the museum. And not really any pretty views of Oxford!!!!!!
Comment from Dawn
Time: January 29, 2008, 9:27 am
I still love “Tacones Lejanos”, even though I know it isn’t Almodóvar’s strongest work - there was something about that movie that really resonated with me. I second the vote for 800 Balas — not high-brow, but a great laugh.
Worst film…no doubt…Nadie Conoce a Nadie. Even a sweaty Eduardo Noriega can’t make up for a crap, pretentious script.
Comment from sandy
Time: January 29, 2008, 12:18 pm
Now I am really intrigued. I really want to see the movie to see if it is really that bad.
I like “The Women on the brink of a Nervous Breakdown”–a very old Spanish film.
I heard through the grapevine that Alejandro Amenábar and 100 crew members are coming to Malta to make a film in English. Does anyone know any details?
Comment from Palmer
Time: January 29, 2008, 9:09 pm
That’s really a shame - his “La Comunidad” was entertaining. Do you think the script was the problem or the direction? Editing is often a crucial component in how a film turns out.
As far as best - I want to echo for “Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios” and “Mar Adentro” - well made and acted, but a depressing subject. I will look to rent “Te Doy Mis Ojos” since I have seen it recommended here on a number of occasions.
I have rented a few clunkers from Spain through “Blockbuster.com” but it was some time ago and I quickly forgot what the titles were. Sometimes, I quit watching halfway through if I see it going badly. Life’s too short to watch rotten films.
Comment from Andrew
Time: February 3, 2008, 3:57 pm
When I bought the book I saw that it had been compared to the awful Da Vinci Code. It’s not that good but I did stay with it until the end.
The main problem with it is that it’s all been done before and better. It’s just an episode of Inspector Morse without the strong likeable characters of Morse and Lewis to hold it all together.
It is a fine book to pass away the time on a flight but other passengers might be disturbed at the sight of you chewing your own elbows in frustration at the contradictions and crassness of the plot. I can picture the author planning the book by first listing all the Oxford landmarks and mathematical/philisophical references he wanted to insert in the storyline and then finding a way (any way) to link them.
One aspect of the book stands out above all - it has the worst opening line in the history of the novel, ever: as long and convoluted a sentence as it is possible to write. But, if you can get beyond that then there is some enjoyment to be had although a trip to the dentist might be better.
Ben will be pleased that Abingdon does get a mention.
Comment from Carlos
Time: February 14, 2008, 12:09 am
Yes, I too found this a disappointing film, especially for those of us who have had a dose of (Inspector) Morse.
Apparently Guillermo Martínez’s book is good (eg review in The Guardian — http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1405328,00.html), so try that instead.
Comment from Juan
Time: February 20, 2008, 11:05 am
Torrente is the worst film ever!!! Film industry in Spain is very bad, bad movies, bad actors, bad scripts…
I like Jesús Franco, Ossorio, Buñuel…
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