Don't Tempt Me
| Don't Tempt Me | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster by Oscar Mariné | |
| Directed by | Agustín Díaz Yanes |
| Produced by |
Gerardo Herrero Eduardo Campoy |
| Written by | Agustín Díaz Yanes |
| Starring |
Penélope Cruz Demián Bichir Javier Bardem Gael García Bernal |
| Music by | Bernardo Bonezzi |
| Distributed by | Casa Nova Films |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 115 min. |
| Country |
Spain Mexico |
| Language | Spanish |
Don't Tempt Me (Spanish: Bendito Infierno, also known as Sin noticias de Dios in Spanish and No News From God in English) is a 2001 Mexican and Spanish co-production comedy film. The screenplay for the film was written especially for Penélope Cruz and Victoria Abril by the award-winning Spanish writer and director Agustín Díaz Yanes of Nadie hablará de nosotras cuando hayamos muerto.
Awards
This film was nominated for the Goya Awards in 2002 in the categories of Best Picture, Best Actress (Victoria Abril) and Best Supporting Actor (Gael García Bernal).
The film earned Demián Bichir the "Best Bichir in a movie" MTV Movie Awards-Mexico in 2003.
Plot
In Heaven, the last ten years have been tough—Hell has been winning the battle between Good and Evil. The managers of Heaven receive a request by a mother to save her son's soul and see the possibility of winning the soul of a boxer named Manny (Demián Bichir) as an opportunity to shift the balance of power. Although Manny is severely in debt and is even thinking of suicide, Lola (Victoria Abril), an angel, is sent to Earth to take over the role of the boxer's wife. To counter this, Hell's manager Jack Davenport (Gael García Bernal) decides to send one of his more troublesome agents, Carmen (Penélope Cruz), who was a male ex-gangster punished by being converted into a waitress, to fight back by impersonating Manny's cousin. Though it starts out as a simple fight between heaven and hell for the soul of one man, a conspiracy in Hell and conflicting emotions interrupt the war between saints and sinners. Manny is overprotective of Lola and after looking through the porn magazines that Carmen reads, he suspects a relationship between Lola and Carmen. Suddenly Manny's soul becomes increasingly important and his weakened physical state creates a deadline by which he must go to Hell or Heaven. It is the job of the supernatural agents to tempt or save Manny. The obstinate womanizing boxer inconsistently shows signs of regret and change, for example when he writes a letter of apology to his mother but doesn't send it. His ups and downs make it a hard job for both Carmen and Lola.
Cast
Victoria Abril ... Lola Nevado
Penélope Cruz ... Carmen Ramos
Demian Bichir ... Manny
Gemma Jones ... Nancy
Fanny Ardant ... Marina D'Angelo
Juan Echanove ... Supermarket manager
Gael García Bernal ... Davenport
Emilio Gutiérrez Caba ... Police chief
Cristina Marcos ... Police officer
Luis Tosar ... Police officer
Bruno Bichir ... Eduardo
Elena Anaya ... Pili
Peter McDonald ... Henry
Elsa Pataky ... Waitress in Hell
Trivia
Javier Bardem (Penélope Cruz's later real-life husband) makes an unbilled cameo appearance (without dialogue) at the very end of the film as Cruz's character's male form.
External links
- (Spanish) Review of MTV Awards-Mexico
- Don't Tempt Me at the Internet Movie Database
- Don't Tempt Me at AllMovie