The World for a Thigh

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Penelope Cruz is at the centre of a dramatic storm of sex, comedy, and tragedy in her debut role of Silvia in 1992's Jamon, jamon ("Ham, Ham"). It's a story of rural prostitutes and idle, wouldbe matadors fit for a soap opera except everything is shaded with absurdism. It's pretty fascinating.

Sylvia discovers she's gotten pregnant by her boyfriend, Jose (Jordi Molla). He wants to marry her, much to the ire of his mother, Conchita (Stefana Sandrelli), who considers Silvia's mother (Anna Galiena) to be no better than a whore.

Into the mix wanders Javier Bardem as Raul, a young man who works delivering ham and modelling underwear. At night, he practices bullfighting in the nude for some reason and Bardem was evidently willing to show everyone how well hung he is. He sets his sights on both Silvia and Conchita, making an already volatile situation chaotic.

The title of the film invites the viewer to see this as a problem of the flesh but it becomes absurdly literal in the climax. Everyone is quite noisy about what they see as points of honour and the true passions of their hearts but, at the end of the day, it seems all a matter of ham.

Jamon jamon is available on The Criterion Channel.