The Queen of Spain

Is this supposed to be a comedy or a melodrama about the behind-the-scenes machinations of filmmaking? Is there a political satire going on here or dishy tell all about Spain’s movie industry with proxies for its major stars? It’s difficult to say as The Queen of Spain wants to be all these things, and in being all these things winds up nullifying the entire enterprise.

The dramatics of a concentration camp survivor reconnecting with his former industry friends and peers is treated with the same level as the more satirical bits about making a Franco-approved version of Queen Isabella’s life. A group of filmmakers, mainly actors, break into a prison labor camp to escort their target to the safety of France. It’s clear the filmmakers are trying to echo Ernst Lubitsch’s romantic black satire To Be or Not to Be, but they don’t have his unique touch or ability to develop distinct dramaturgy and comedic tones in harmony.

There’s a lot going on in The Queen of Spain and much of it goes nowhere. There’s Cary Elwes as a closeted movie star, a lavender marriage, a cameo from Francisco Franco, Chino Darin’s random romance with Penélope Cruz, and Mandy Patinkin’s blacklisted screenwriter are all threads that are introduced only to be left dangling or unable to fold into the wider plot, or plots. If there’s one thing that does manage to tie all of this together it’s that the entire movie is too talky and meandering. You can guarantee that this film will go nowhere slowly and display a talented cast like a merry-go-round of incident looking for meaning.