Heat Wave: JAMON JAMON (1992) – Introduced by Alicia Fletcher

The films are hot, but the Revue’s AC will be cranked for the ten films in this summer’s Heat Wave lineup.

Heat Wave at the Revue Cinema, a lineup of the greatest summer movies ever made, continues on July 22nd with the sweaty summer masterpiece JAMÓN JAMÓN with an introduction by Silent Revue curator, ALICIA FLETCHER! 

“…an outrageous throwback to the days when directors took crazy chances, counting on their audience to keep up with them.” (Roger Ebert)

Set in the rural outskirts of Spain’s Monegros Desert, JAMÓN JAMÓN is a sizzling, early ‘90s melodrama that launched the careers of two icons–Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Resplendent with visual puns that merge the love of food (especially, cured ham) with raw, unbridled sexual desire, Bigas Luna’s sweaty, fever-inducing signature work caused enormous outrage when it was first released, yet today is celebrated as an Iberian masterpiece. 

Cruz plays Silvia, the teenage daughter of the local brothel’s madam. Impregnated by the heir to the town’s famed underwear manufacturer, Silvia faces rejection from her lover’s rich mother, played by Italian cinema superstar Stefania Sandrelli (DIVORCE ITALIAN STYLE, THE CONFORMIST). Seeking to tear apart her son and his lower class pregnant lover, the mother bribes an oversexed, male underwear model and jamón (i.e. ham) delivery man, played by Javier Bardem, to seduce her–but complications ensue when the two develop a genuine attraction. Earning Luna the Venice Film Festival’s Silver Lion that year, JAMÓN JAMÓN combined the symbolism of Luis Buñuel with the camp eroticism of Pedro Almodóvar to expose the tension in Spain between the old conservative tradition and the radical revolution of the 1990s. (ALICIA FLETCHER) 

Restoration courtesy of Janus Films

Part of the Heat Wave series!

Cast/Crew Info
Director: Bigas Luna | Cast: Stefania Sandrelli, Anna Galiena, Juan Diego, Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem