The Wrong Man

The American Cinematheque’s fourth annual “Recent Spanish Cinema” series, which will run weekends at Raleigh Studio’s Chaplin Theater through April 12, begins tonight at 7 with “Libertarias,” directed by Vicente Aranda, whose earlier films will be highlighted throughout the series.

That “Libertarias” is an overheated, heavy-going melodrama of the Spanish Civil War centering on a group of women caught up in the struggle should not put you off of either other Aranda films or the festival itself.

Tonight’s 9:45 offering, Mariano Barroso’s “Ecstasy,” is more like it. First of all, it stars the most dynamic young male star of the Spanish cinema, Xavier Bardem, as Rober, a poor but ruthless guy who decides to assume the identity of his unprepossessing friend Max (Daniel Guzman). Max’s father, Daniel (Federico Luppi), is a famous Madrid stage actor-director who has not seen his son since Max was a child.

The idea is to set up the wealthy Daniel for a robbery, but Rober, who attends an audition, proves to have real talent and presence; what’s more, Rober and Daniel, both forceful personalities, swiftly fall into a father-son relationship. Although “Ecstasy’s” ending should have been tougher, it is charged by the sharp performances of Bardem and the silver-haired veteran Luppi. (These two films will be repeated in the same time slots Feb. 27.)

Aranda’s 1979 “The Girl With the Golden Panties” and his 1984 “Fanny ‘Pelopaja”’ (Straw Hair) will screen Friday and Saturday, respectively, at 7 p.m.

Disregard the title of the first film, for it is a serious drama based upon Juan Marse’s highly acclaimed novel. It doesn’t travel well--it assumes a knowledge of the complexities of the bitter Spanish Civil War legacy--and it hasn’t aged well, as its sexual candor is no longer shocking. Despite these drawbacks for present-day American audiences and despite the overly literary quality of its dialogue, it is clearly a worthy work with first-rate performances by Victoria Abril as a provocative young woman and by Lautaro Murua as the reclusive, still-handsome uncle she has sought out for an interview. The uncle was a man of wealth and position under Franco, and now he’s obsessed with writing his memoirs to put his murky past in the best light possible.

“Fanny” is a different matter entirely. Although overly long, it is a nifty thriller in which a tough young criminal, Fanny (Fanny Cottencon), intent on springing from prison her drug-addicted lover, enters a risky affair with Gallego (Bruno Cremer), a crooked Barcelona cop.

“Fanny” evolves into a terrific, hard-edged, love-hate tale, with French actress Cottencon bringing to mind early Bette Davis in appearance and intensity as she suggests that cynicism and naivete are opposite sides of the same coin; you can imagine Tommy Lee Jones and either Madonna or Sharon Stone in an American remake. “Fanny” will be followed at 9:30 p.m. by Carlos Balague’s acclaimed military drama “An Internal Affair.”

Following “The Girl With the Golden Panties” Friday at 9:30 p.m. is “Passages,” director Daniel Calparsaro and actress Najwa Nimri’s socko follow-up to their very similar “Jump Into the Void,” shown last year.

Basque actress-singer Nimri, who resembles the young Liza Minnelli, plays a bleached-blond lesbian, part of a gang of petty young criminals, who becomes obsessed with a handsome older woman (Charo Lopez) who’s straight and independent and as penniless as the lesbian. As a smart but illiterate young woman yearning for a better life, Nimri is as galvanic as the movie is itself. “Passages” repeats March 1 at 9:30 p.m. Information: (213) 466-FILM.

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Did you know that a blue whale, the largest creature ever to live on Earth and twice the size of the largest dinosaur, can weigh as much as 100 tons and be 100 feet long? The Imax Theater in Exposition Park’s 43-minute “Whales,” opening Friday, answers these and many other questions. “Whales” is what Imax filmmakers do best: a straightforward nature film, as beautiful as it is informative, and a delight for all ages. Information: (213) 744-2016.