Nobleza baturra (1965)

 English titles: Aragonese Nobility; Rustic Chivalry

Based on the play (1929) by Joaquín Dicenta (hijo), which in turn was based on the homonymous 1925 film he wrote; there was another previous cinematic version released in 1935.

A woman has a relationship with a servant of his father; she keeps it a secret because her father would not approve of their marriage; he would rather she married a rich landowner who courts her.

Musical drama. This is a well made but unexciting story set in a time where a woman's chastity was deemed important, and choosing her husband was the pinnacle in female emancipation.

Rating: 43

La viudita naviera (1962)

 Candelaria marries a ship captain and he sets sail to Havana right after the wedding. Some months later, she receives news of his death. Another ship captain, a don juan type, starts courting her.

Musical comedy with passable musical numbers and bland yet tolerable plot and dialogue.

Rating: 37

A Viúva Virgem (1972)

In a small town, a woman becomes a rich widow on her wedding night. She travels to Rio and meets a fortune seeker. She keeps having visions of her late husband.

Erotic comedy. The script is clearly dated, and gets progressively more absurd as the movie advances. Some of the ideas are funny, such as the institution of a stock market for the male protagonist's marrying enterprise. Overall, however, the film is not really funny. The actors seem to be having a good time while being on it, and this somehow makes the film endurable.

The plot bears some similarity with that of La viudita naviera (1962).

Rating: 34

Independência ou Morte (1972)

 The life of Pedro I of Brazil from his youth to his abdication from the emperor's throne. His affair with Domitila is given much screen time.

Historical drama. I don't know the facts well, so I can't judge its historical accuracy. Dramatically, it's a very unsophisticated product, yet effective at reaching an undemanding audience. The production values are at times inadequately low. The acting is passable, but Menezes is somewhat above the rest. Despite the film's limitations, it manages to convey the problems of liberalism, which, depending on one's own ideological inclinations, may be seen as unfortunate setbacks on the path of progress or as evidence of liberalism's intrinsic flaws.

Rating: 34

Tras el cristal (1986)

English title: In a Glass Cage 

(mild spoiler) An ex-Nazi doctor survives in an iron lung after a botched suicide attempt. He lives in a house with his wife and young daughter. A young man applies for the job of nursing him; he has a past connection with his patient which has affected his psyche in terrible ways.

Incompetent psychological horror with some shockingly disgusting scenes and which completely fails to ring minimally true or engaging. The characters don't just seem deranged but mildly retarded. I guess the intention was to show that victims of abuse sometimes turn into abusers themselves, but having a plausible overall premise does not excuse one from translating it into a script which makes sense dramatically.

Rating: 18

Deadly Friend (1986)

 Paul, a teenage genius who has built a robotic companion for himself, moves with his mother to a new neighborhood. He befriends fellow teenagers Tom and Samantha, who lives with her abusive father. When Samantha dies, Paul uses his electronic savviness in a risky experiment.

Uneven sci-fi horror which is fairly watchable for the first half of its length, and then devolves into gratuitous shock sequences and an uninspired ending. The plot is basically a variation on Frankenstein.

Rating: 39

Betão Ronca Ferro (1971)

 Cláudia, a circus artist, meets Geraldo, a rich guy. The two get married and go to live in Geraldo's parents' house. Geraldo is away frequently on trips and Cláudia does not get along with his snobbish parents.

Drama with a few musical interludes. Its central theme of class conflict was present in Chofer de Praça, a previous film of its co-director and star. This one, however, is considerably worse: it's dreadfully directed and the script is very poor and full of holes; especially toward the end it becomes so absurd that it attains a kind of surreal quality. 

Rating: 18