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23-428: Cuadrilátero (English: Boxing ring ) is a 1970 Spanish boxing-themed film directed by Eloy de la Iglesia and starring José María Prada , Deane Selmier and Rosana Yanny. This article related to a Spanish film of the 1970s is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Eloy de la Iglesia De la Iglesia was an outspoken gay and socialist filmmaker who is relatively unknown outside Spain despite

46-923: A Congressman , 1979), follows the story of a politician who is blackmailed due to his secret homosexuality and El sacerdote ( The Priest ), also released in 1979, deals with a conservative, Catholic priest whose sexual obsessions lead him to self-mutilation. With the arrival of the 1980s, de La Iglesia explored the theme of urban insecurity in his film Miedo a salir de noche ( Fear to Go Out at Night , 1980) and he mixed sex, politics and violence in La mujer del ministro ( The Minister's wife , 1981). De la Iglesia's subsequent films, written in collaboration with Gonzalo Goicoechea, were centered in social problems such as juvenile delinquency and drug addiction, such as Navajeros ( Knifers , 1980), Colegas ( Pals , 1982), El pico ( The Needle , 1983) and El pico 2 ( The Needle 2 , 1984). These films made an effort to connect with

69-399: A film based on the novel of the same title written by Eduardo Mendicutti. Stricken with kidney cancer , he died on 23 March 2006, age 62, after surgery to remove a malignant tumor. He was cremated at Cementerio de la Almudena . Los placeres ocultos Hidden Pleasures ( Spanish : Los placeres ocultos ) is a 1977 drama film , directed by Eloy de la Iglesia . The script

92-485: A play by José Luis Alonso de Santos , continued de la Iglesia's commercial success, but it was not well received by Spanish critics. Like many of the young protagonists of his films, de la iglesia became addicted to drugs such as heroin, and he stopped making films for 15 years. Claiming that his addiction to cinema was stronger than his drug problems, de la Iglesia eventually kicked his habit and resumed his career making Los novios bulgaros ( The Bulgarian Lovers , 2003),

115-403: A popular audience in a direct and unpretentious style. His formula for success involved young non-professional actors, topical themes, a modest budget, and usually on location shooting. From the last years of the 1970s to the early 1980s, de la Iglesia was one of Spain's more commercial successful film directors, but film critics were usually harsh in the appreciation of his work. El pico became

138-471: A prolific and successful career in his native country. He is best remembered for having portrayed urban marginality and the world of drugs and juvenile delinquency, with many of his films dealing with the theme of homosexuality. Part of his work is closely related to the phenomenon popularly known in Spain as quinqui films , to which he contributed several works. De la Iglesia took risks in his films that captured

161-414: A result, Eduardo and Miguel resume their friendship. This time, they accept each other and Eduardo respects that Miguel is straight. Miguel introduces his girlfriend Carmen to Eduardo and the trio establish a close relationship. For Eduardo, the company of the young couple fills the void of a family life and eases his loneliness. The close friendship between Eduardo and the couple formed by Miguel and Carmen

184-419: A terrible scene, shouting, insulting, and revealing Eduardo's homosexuality to all. In the last scene Eduardo is alone in his apartment and hears the rings of the doorbell. He looks through the peephole and his face lights up with joy. When the door is ajar the film ends without seeing the visitor. With its thematic centered on homosexuality, Los placeres ocultos was highly controversial. Initially banned by

207-477: A wealthy family, who falls in love with a much younger heterosexual man. Los placeres ocultos is notable for being the first extended representation of gay men in Spanish cinema . Eduardo, a well off bank manager in his forties, is a sophisticated closeted homosexual. He keeps his sexual life a secret, but he uses his social and economic position to win over young men. In one of his regular cruising sessions in

230-415: Is abruptly truncated by Rosa's reappearance. Rosa, angry because she was jilted by Miguel, maliciously begin to spread rumors that Miguel is gay. She talks to Carmen's father and, as a consequence, he forbids his daughter to see Miguel again. Miguel becomes very upset with the loss of his girlfriend, blaming his closeness to Eduardo for it. Hurt and enraged, Miguel goes to the bank where Eduardo works and makes

253-588: The Complutense University of Madrid , but he abandoned it to direct children's theater. By age 20, he had written and directed many works for television sharpening his narrative skills. He established himself as a writer of children's television programs for Radiotelevisíon Española in Barcelona. De la Iglesia made his debut as film director when he was age 22 with Fantasia 3 ( Fantasy 3 , 1966), adapting three children's stories: The Maid of

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276-523: The Francoist censorship allowed de la Iglesia to increase sexually charged tones in his works. This approach became apparent in his films: Juego de amor prohibido ( Games of Forbbiden Love , 1975) and La otra alcoba ( The Other Bedroom , 1976). In the late 1970s, de la Iglesia, collaborated with journalist and screen riter Gonzalo Goicoechea. Los placeres ocultos ( Hidden Pleasures , 1977) focused on homosexuality. El diputado ( Confessions of

299-507: The Sea , The three hairs from the devil and The Wizard of Oz . While doing mandatory military service, he wrote the script of his second film, Algo Amargo en la Boca ( Something Bitter Tasting , 1968). Algo Amargo en la Boca , a sordid melodrama, and Cuadrilatero ( Boxing Ring , 1969), a boxing story, faced problems with the Francoist censors and failed at the box office. His films did not attract widespread notice until his fourth effort,

322-587: The Spanish censors, critics gave the film relatively kind reviews because they opposed the continuing of censorship one year after the death of Francisco Franco . The review in El Pueblo stated that the film treats the "sad problem of homosexuality, but with Little scandal". On opening night in Madrid, the film was met with massive street demonstrations by gay liberationists, with de la Iglesia recalling that, " It

345-539: The University area, Eduardo meets Miguel, an attractive young man from a humble background and falls in love with him. Then Eduardo starts his usual plan to approach men. Through Nes, a gay man who lives in Miguel's neighborhood, Eduardo finds out Miguel's address and offers him a job in the company run by his friend Raul. Raul and Eduardo had a relationship in the past and Raul is still secretly in love with Eduardo. With

368-537: The critically acclaimed thriller El Techo de Cristal ( The Glass Ceiling , 1970). During the early 1970s, de la Iglesia was a member of the Spanish Communist Party; his films of this period reflected his beliefs and often centered on violent forms of social protest. His political leanings and the lurid subjects of his film made him a controversial filmmaker facing many problems with the Spanish censor under Francisco Franco 's régime. He approached

391-517: The director's biggest success at the box office. After the critical and commercial failure of Otra vuelta de tuerca ( The Turn of the Screw , 1985), loosely based on Henry James 's novel, de la Iglesia returned to the subject of juvenile delinquency in La Estanquera de vallecas ( The Tobacconist from Vallecas , 1987), this time employing a humorous tone. La Estanquera de vallecas , based on

414-601: The excuse of helping him typing a book, Eduardo takes Miguel to his apartment every afternoon. To gain his friendship, Eduardo buys him a motorcycle. However, Miguel is heterosexual . He has a steady girlfriend, Carmen. Miguel is also entangled in a sexual affair with Rosa, an older married neighbor who he visits with excuse of helping her with plumbing problems in her house. When Eduardo tells his fellings to his new friend, Miguel rejects him. Eduardo returns to his solitary life looking for fleeting pleasures with young men in cruising spots: cinemas, parks and public toilets. He rejects

437-548: The horror genre in his two following films: La semana del asesino ( The Cannibal Man , 1971) and Nadie oyó gritar ( No One Heard the Scream , 1972), leaving stylistic and structural academicism aside. He defined a sharp style, torn and impressionistic. His film Una gota de sangre para seguir amando ( Murder in a Blue World , 1973), written with José Luis Garci , a mixed of futuristic thriller, took some cues from Stanley Kubrick 's A Clockwork Orange . The dismantling of

460-498: The offer of his friend Raul to be involved in the emerging gay movement . Then, Eduardo's elderly mother becomes terminally ill and in her deathbed, she confesses that she had known he was gay since he was a teenager. She urges him not to be alone. In one of his adventures cruising in the park, Eduardo meets Nes again. Nes and members of his gang go to Eduardo's apartment to rob him and beat him. When Miguel finds out what had happened, he worries about Eduardo and beats Nes in revenge. As

483-510: The stamp of his strong personality. Born in Zarauz , Guipúzcoa into a wealthy Basque family, he grew up in Madrid. His desire to follow a career in filmmaking initially was thwarted. He attended courses at the prestigious Parisian Institut des hautes études cinématographiques , but he could not enter Spain's national film school because he wasn't yet 21, the minimum age required for admission. Instead, he began to study philosophy and literature at

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506-420: The struggles of the underclass, portraying the everyday, unidealized lives of powerless characters portrayed genuinely with flaws and vices. They are an example of commitment to the immediate reality, going against the conformist outlook of most movies of its time. Beyond their debatable aesthetic merits, his film served as a document of the Spanish marginality of the late seventies and early eighties, and they have

529-429: Was written by de la Iglesia, Rafael Sánchez Campoy and Gonzalo Goicoechea with the working title La acera de enfrente (literally: The other side of the street, which was used as a pejorative expression for "homosexual") , considered too daring for its time, the title was changed upon release. The film stars Simón Andreu , Charo López and Tony Fuentes. The plot follows a middle-aged, closeted homosexual banker from

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