This a concise, informative and very entertaining book on Spanish cinema. It's an eclectic book (there's no emphasis on Bunuel or Almodovar to the exclusion of all else) but this means that the chapters cover subjects like early Spanish cinema, Spanish cinema during the dictatorship and during the political transition. The book has several interviews with important people in Spanish cinema. There is also a fascinating chapter on Basque cinema, a beautifully written chapter on the theme of childhood in Spanish cinema, a great chapter on sexy Spanish film stars and chapters on two auteurs - the more serious one on Carlos Saura and a lively, fun one on a director called Julio Medem that's probably the best bit of the book. I'd never heard of Medem before but now I've seen two of his films on video (The Red Squirrel and Lovers of the Arctic Circle)and they've both become my favourites. Stone writes with a confident and expert tone that's stylish and almost always accessible and you come away having learned as much about the history of Spain as you do about its cinema. I can recommend this book very highly to fans and students of Spanish and European cinema.
