The Great Vazquez

The Great Vazquez is a nice 2010 Spanish biographical comedy-drama film directed and written by Óscar Aibar which stars Santiago Segura as the title character alongside Álex Angulo, Mercè Llorens , Jesús Gúzman , Manolo Solo and Enrique Villén. Set in 1960s and 1970s Barcelona , the plot follows the vicissitudes of Vázquez (Santiago Segura) , a cartoonist working for Bruguera publishing company (whose chief is played by Enrique Villén) and a wastrel whose rogue way of living is threatened by the arrival of a foe , Peláez (Alex Angulo) , an accountant hellbent on setting things right in the publishing house . It's spring and Vazquez breathes life to the fullest . Characters' Vazquez : Gilda Sisters, Anacleto, Cebolleta family , triumph in the Bruguera editorial Tebeos . Vazquez is the best cartoonist of the Bruguera publishing house , but his situation is threatened by the restrictions imposed, by the little pay he receives and the labor exploitation of his bosses . Along the way , he enjoys what he wants, when he wants, pays nothing , cleverly dodges his creditors , mocks and scams his bosses , and happily goes home, collecting one family after another , until the stiff-upper-lip accountant from his publishing house decides that he must follow the strict rules of the company . It won't be an easy task : for the genius cartoonist, life is a party where you have to crash even if you haven't been invited . Is it possible to live aside of the system, thinking only about the present and oneself? .

A feature film about Manuel Vázquez, the best comic book author in Barcelona during the sixties, but, mainly, a man with a very particular way of living his life . Due to his swindles and being accused of bigamy , Vazquez in imprisoned and out of prison and he's forced to create pastimes and hobbies for the comics due to his debts with the publishing company, that prohibited him created his characters for a long time. The film is a Distinto Films, Tornasol Films and Castafiore Films production, with the participation of TVE, TVC and Canal España. Shooting locations included Barcelona and the Ciudad de la Luz studio in Alicante. The Great Vazquez was presented at the 58th San Sebastián International Film Festival in September 2010, screened as part of the festival's main competition . It was theatrically released in Spain on 24 September 2010. El Gran Vázquez(2010) results to be an attractive and delightful mixture of genial period comedy mixed with comic strip characters bouncing out of the screen . A Lopezvazquez-esque version of ¨Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can¨ with full of city guards , considering that the imbrication of the setting with the lead character's spirit is decent enough, while the supporting cast performs pretty well .

There's a faithful portrayal of the working environment in Franco era and Santiago Segura gives a terrific performance, balancing tenderness and cynicism, making the film a pleasant surprise , while considering the animated segments to be expendable. The real Vázquez created popular characters, such as : "Anacleto, Agente Secreto" (Anacleto, Secret Agent) inspired by Maxwell Smart , Superagente 86 (1965) , Gilda Sisters , Cebolleta Family , and Vázquez was main character in "Los Cuentos Del Tío Vázquez" (Uncle Vazquez's Tales) . In addition, Manolo Solo plays correctly a young draftsman called Ibáñez. Francisco Ibáñez is the most famous draftsman in Spain, that his best creation is "Mortadelo y Filemón" and "13, Rue del Percebe", two of the most well-known creations of Ibáñez . In the same line Jordi Banacolocha plays Escobar , creator of "Zipi y Zape" and ¨Carpanta¨ and Ibáñez's greatest rival for years. The motion picture was competently written and directed by Oscar Aibar. Oscar is a craftsman who has directed a few films , all of them have special issues and interesting themes , dealing with all kinds of genres , such as Spaghetti/Sci-Fi : ¨Atolladero¨ , Fantasy : ¨The Forest¨ , Thriller : ¨Rumors¨ , Comedy/Drama : ¨Platillos Volantes¨, Biography : ¨El Gran Vazquez¨ and ¨La Maquina de Bilar¨ also starred by Santiago Segura . Rating : 7/10 , better than average . The picture will appeal to Santiago Segura fans .