Stars and Masculinities in Spanish Cinema: From Banderas to Bardem by Chris Perriam (review)

Abstract

818 Reviews reference to the rural/urban divide in Spain, its progressive growth and the interac? tion that results from this division. The main objective ofthe book, which is achieved despite its ambitiousness, is to explore the relationship between urban and rural spaces and the way in which this relationship changes over time, influenced by the globalization process and by the Spanish postmodern condition. The result of the study is an in-depth analysis of urban-rural relations and confrontations in a variety of cultural productions, both filmic and literary,ranging from the 1950s to the 1990s. The author chooses a number of emblematic pieces, such as Tiempo de silencio, Surcos, El cuarto de atrds, La prima Angelica and iQue he hechoyo para mereceresto?, and successfully analyses them from a variety of angles. He delves into the way in which cultural, social, and economic changes in Spain are reflected in the cultural production of its writers and film directors, who, in one way or another, continue to search for identity as a reaction against the globalization process. The book is extremely well presented and clearly organized with an extensive and up-to-date bibliography and filmography. As regards structure and layout, the chap? ters are grouped together in sections, which makes the reading very easy and enjoyable while maintaining academic rigour. Every chapter has a conclusion that not only summarizes the main ideas but also points forward to aspects dealt with in subsequent chapters. The only defect is that the general conclusion at the end is rather abstract and fails to tie up the loose ends and provide an overarching summary of the main concepts that have been discussed. Postmodern Paletos is a remarkable piece of work, a relevant contribution to the growing field of Spanish cultural studies and a recommended addition to reading lists of courses on twentieth-century Spanish culture. University of Limerick Maria Cinta Ramblado-Minero Stars and Masculinities in Spanish Cinema: From Banderas to Bardem. By Chris Perriam. (Oxford Studies in Modern European Culture, 11) Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. 2003. ix + 22ipp. ?35. ISBN 0-19-815996-x. Within the plethora of books published on contemporary Spanish cinema over the past fiveyears, Chris Perriam's Stars and Masculinities in Spanish Cinema really does stand out. For, unlike a substantial proportion of scholars working in this field, Per? riam maps out a completely differentdirection for Spanish film studies by moving away from a primary concentration on the auteur, or thematics of gender, sexuality, nationality and textuality, to posit an approach which centres on star studies. While Rob Stone's excellent recent introduction to film in Spain, Spanish Cinema (Lon? don: Longman, 2001), does provide brief overviews of Antonio Banderas, Victoria Abril, Javier Bardem, and Penelope Cruz (pp. 183-205), few have taken up the chal? lenge of approaching Spanish cinema through the prisms of star studies. Ginette Vincendeau's 2000 publication, Stars and Stardom in French Cinema (London and New York: Continuum), presents an exemplary model in charting twentieth-century French film through a select number of male and female stars from Max Linder to Juliette Binoche. Perriam never attempts to emulate Vincendeau's approach or that of others who have defined the terrain of star studies within filmscholarship (Richard Dyer, Steven Cohan, Paul McDonald, Geoffrey Macnab, Christine Gledhill, and others). Rather, while drawing on previous publications in this area, he carves out a differentline of enquiry, examining the national cinema of Spain through a select number of male case studies, figures whose body of work comes in the period of post-Francoism. The book's catchy subtitle ('From Banderas to Bardem') is slightly misleading as the book's firstchapter dissects the work of a marginally older actor, MLR, 99.3, 2004 819 Imanol Arias?although, like Bardem, he made his film debut in 1982?and the fi? nal chapter concludes with an assessment of the twenty-something figures currently enjoying top billing in the films ofthe last decade (Eduardo Noriega, Fele Martinez, Liberto Rabal, and Juan Diego Botto). A minor quibble about the subtitle aside, this really is a critically informed, beau? tifully written, lucid account of each actor's oeuvre. Chapter 1...