''Kill Me Tender'' ( es, Haz conmigo lo que quieras, lit=Do What You Want with Me, links=no) is a 2003 Spanish

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written and directed by (in his directorial debut feature) which stars

Ingrid Rubio Ingrid Rubio Ruiz (born 2 August 1975 in Barcelona, Spain) is a Spanish actress. She won the Special Mention Award at the 1996 San Sebastián International Film Festival for her performance in the film ''Taxi (1996 film), Taxi''. Career She h ...

Alberto San Juan Alberto San Juan Guijarro (born 1 November 1968) is a Spanish film, stage and television actor. Biography Alberto San Juan was born on 1 November 1968 in Madrid, son to cartoonist and radio announcer Pilar Guijarro Ortiz de Zárate. He spen ...

Emilio Gutiérrez Caba Emilio Gutiérrez Caba (born 26 September 1942) is a Spanish film and television actor. Personal Caba is the son of actors and Irene Caba Alba and brother of and Julia, both dedicated to acting too. From his mother side, he is the grandson of ...

, and

Manuel Manquiña Manuel Juan Francisco del Cristo de la Victoria Prieto Comesaña aka Manuel Manquiña (born 2 August 1953 in Vigo, Galicia) is a Spanish actor. Biography His career begun in 1982 in several TV comedy programs by TVG and several movies dire ...

Plot

The plot follows a

love triangle A love triangle or eternal triangle is a scenario or circumstance, usually depicted as a rivalry, in which two people are pursuing or involved in a romantic relationship with one person, or in which one person in a romantic relationship with so ...

between Maribel (the sister of a S&M worker), Manolo (a somewhat dumb former

legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...

member) and Néstor (a widowed

pastry Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" suggests ma ...

chef).

Cast

Production

The film is a Star Line TV production, and it had the participation of

Canal Sur Canal Sur ('South Channel') is part of Radio y Televisión de Andalucía (RTVA), the public broadcasting company of Andalusia. It was created by means of the devolved powers given to this region by an Act of Parliament in its statute of autono ...

, TVC,

Telemadrid Telemadrid is a public regional television station in the Community of Madrid, Spain, the flagship channel of the regional public broadcaster Radio Televisión Madrid (RTVM). It began its broadcast on 2 May 1989. History First years Telemadr ...

, TVV, TVG, ETB, and

Canal+ Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...

. It was shot in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

Release

The film premiered at the 6th

Málaga Film Festival The Málaga Film Festival, formerly Málaga Spanish Film Festival (FMCE), is an annual film festival held in Málaga, Spain. The festival was established to promote Spanish cinema and help disseminate information about Spanish films. Since 2017, ...

on 27 April 2003. Distributed by

Buena Vista International Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, formerly known as Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. until 2007, is an American film distribution studio within the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. It ha ...

, it was released theatrically in Spain on 13 February 2004.

Reception

Mirito Torreiro of ''

Fotogramas ''Fotogramas'' is Spanish digital and print film magazine which has been in circulation since 1946. It is one of the early film magazines in Spain. History Founded in Barcelona, it was first published on 15 November 1946 by Antonio Nadal-Rodó a ...

'' rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, highlighting the chemistry between Rubio and San Juan as the best thing about the film. Jonathan Holland of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' deemed the film to be a "an effervescent, true-life tale of shenanigans in small-town northern Spain".

Accolades

, - , align = "center" , 2005 , ,

19th Goya Awards The 19th Goya Awards took place in Madrid, Spain on 30 January 2005. ''The Sea Inside'' was nominated for 15 awards and won 14, including the four regular acting awards (Bardem, Bugallo, Dueñas and Rivera) and the two acting awards for Best New ...

, ,

Best New Director ''Best New Director'' was an award given by the New York Film Critics Circle from its first inception in 1989 until discontinuing in 1996. There was no award in 1993. 1980s 1989 *Kenneth Branagh – ''Henry V (1989 film), Henry V'' **Runners-up: St ...

, , Ramón de España , , , ,

References

External links

* * 2003 directorial debut films 2003 comedy films 2003 films 2000s Spanish films 2000s Spanish-language films Films set in Spain Films shot in Catalonia Spanish comedy films Spanish-language comedy films {{authority control