''Jamón jamón'' (; ) is a 1992 Spanish romantic

tragicomedy Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragedy, tragic and comedy, comic forms. Most often seen in drama, dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the ov ...

film directed by

Bigas Luna José Juan Bigas Luna (19 March 1946 – 5 April 2013) was a Spanish film director, designer and artist. His films are typically characterised by a strong emphasis on the erotic film, erotic, often related to food, something for which he admitte ...

and starring Javier Bardem, Jordi Mollà and Penélope Cruz in her debut film. It centers on a young woman named Silvia (Cruz) who becomes pregnant by Jose Luis, the scion of a small but powerful underwear manufacturing empire, and the disastrous fallout of their relationship. The movie engages in

word play Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, ph ...

and

pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...

s, and rhapsodises on the juxtaposition of old and new in Spain, as well as many other emotional contrasts such as erotic desire and food. It is the first film of the so-called ''Trilogía ibérica'' by Bigas Luna, followed by '' Golden Balls'' (1992), and '' The Tit and the Moon'' (1994).

Plot

In a small Spanish town on the edge of the Monegros Desert, the beautiful teenager Silvia spends her evenings making Spanish omlettes to sell at the factory where she works as a seamstress for the Sansón Corporation, a small but powerful men's

underwear Underwear, underclothing, or undergarments are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer clothing from being soiled ...

company that, along with the local ''Conquistador'' ham processing plant, serves as one of the two major local employers. Her mother, Carmen, runs a local bar which doubles as a brothel, and where she used to work as a

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

. Though comfortably middle class now, Carmen still carries a stigma from the townspeople for her past. Unbeknownst to anyone, Silvia has been having an affair with José Luis, the kind but spoiled and immature heir to the Sansón empire. One day, Silvia tells him that she is pregnant and José Luis impulsively proposes to her with a soda can tab, promising to provide her with a real engagement ring once he has sought his parents' permission for marriage. Fearing disinheritance, José Luis tentatively tells his parents that he is dating Silvia without informing them of the pregnancy. His mother, Conchita, who exerts the most influence over the company, refuses to bless the union. His father Manuel bows to his mother's wishes, while also expressing sympathy for Silvia and Carmen, the latter of whom he used to frequent when she was still a prostitute. Conchita decides to ruin José Luis and Silvia's relationship by finding a man to seduce her. She chooses Raúl, a ham delivery driver and aspiring

bullfighter A bullfighter or matador () is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter, and describe all the performers in the activ ...

whom she meets when he is selected as the new Sansón model; Conchita promises the materialistic and ambitious Raúl ample reward should he succeed in his task. After Silvia repels his advances several times, Raúl becomes genuinely attracted to her and begins trying to win her affection in earnest. Meanwhile, Conchita becomes sexually obsessed with Raúl herself and the two begin an affair. When José Luis repeatedly refuses to stand up to his parents, Silvia herself begins an affair with Raúl, while José Luis seeks solace with Carmen, revealed to have been his lover before he began dating Silvia. Amidst the various affairs, Silvia begins having surrealistic dreams containing images of shepherds guiding their flocks through the desert, pigs, and images of herself kneeling nude in the desert cradling ham bones. Learning of Silvia's betrayal, José Luis forces himself upon Silvia to avenge himself against Raúl. Desperate to keep Raúl, Conchita seduces him at the isolated ham warehouse where he works. José Luis tells Carmen that his relationship with Silvia is over, but she refuses to rekindle their affair; a devastated José Luis goes in search of Raúl. Meanwhile, Silvia, looking for José Luis, arrives at his home and encounters a departing Manuel, who makes advances on her. Initially hesitant, she returns his advances. José Luis tracks Raúl down to the ham warehouse and catches him with Conchita. The two men fight using ham legs as

blunt weapons Blunt may refer to: * Blunt (surname), a surname (and list of people with the name) * Blunt (cigar), a term used in the cigar industry to designate blunt-tipped, usually factory-rolled cigars * Blunt (cannabis), a slang term used in cannabis cultu ...

, ending with José Luis injuring Raúl and Raúl bludgeoning José Luis to death. Carmen, Silvia, and Manuel arrive and Silvia returns her soda can tab ring to José Luis's body before returning to Manuel; a weeping Carmen cradles José Luis's body while Conchita comforts Raúl. A shepherd arrives with his flock of sheep, recreating a tableau from Silvia's dreams.

Cast

Production

The film is a Lola Films production. It has the Monegros desert as backdrop. Shooting locations included Peñalba, Fraga, Monegrillo and La Almolda. Footage was shot near the Osborne bull (and the adjoining gas station) in Peñalba, a football pitch in Monegrillo, and a roadhouse near Candasnos. Much of the dialogue and imagery in the film are composed of

and visual puns. For example, in Spanish, '' jamón'' means " ham;" not only do two characters comment that Silvia's breasts taste like ham, but the phonetically similar ''jamona,'' which Raúl calls Silvia, is Spanish slang for an unmarried woman.

Release

The film premiered in Spain on 4 September 1992. It later screened at the 49th Venice International Film Festival.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

gives the film a 69% rating from 16 reviews with the consensus: "It isn't as provocative or amusing as it pretends to be, but ''Jamón jamón''s cheerfully overheated melodrama is often its own reward." Ángel Fernández-Santos of ''

El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...

'' wrote that the film "is uneven, it lurches and lurches, like a drifting canoe, but when it rises to the crest of its waves it reaches the memorable". ''Jamón jamón'' made $7 million rentals from international exports. The film was number one in Spain and grossed $2.5 million. It was also number one in Italy and grossed a further $3.5 million.

Accolades

, - , align = "center" , 1992 , , 49th Venice International Film Festival , , Silver Lion , , Bigas Luna , , , , , - , align = "center" rowspan = "6" , 1993 , , rowspan = "6" , 7th Goya Awards , , colspan = "2" , Best Film , , , , rowspan = "6" , , - , Best Director , , Bigas Luna , , , - , Best Actor , , Javier Bardem , , , - , Best Actress , , Penélope Cruz , , , - ,

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

, , Cuca Canals, Bigas Luna , , , - , Best Sound , , Miguel Rejas Ricard Casals , ,

Soundtrack

"Házmelo otra vez" ( Concha Valdés Miranda)

Informational notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jamon jamon 1992 films 1992 romantic comedy-drama films 1992 independent films Spanish romantic comedy-drama films 1990s Spanish-language films Spanish satirical films 1990s sex comedy-drama films Films directed by Bigas Luna Films set in Aragon Films shot in the province of Huesca Films shot in the province of Zaragoza Spanish sex comedy-drama films Spanish independent films Films scored by Nicola Piovani 1990s Spanish films LolaFilms films United International Pictures films Spanish-language romantic comedy-drama films