17 best films and one TV series with Penelope Cruz

Without Almodovar, viewers might never have known Penelope Cruz's name. After all, it was his film "Tie Me Up!" once inspired a young girl to become an actress. The future Oscar winner began her career as a model, and now she is equally well known and loved both in her homeland in Spain and in Hollywood.

1. Ham, ham

Spain, Italy, 1992.
Comedy, drama, erotica.
Duration: 95 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 5.

Pretty Sylvia (Penelope Cruz)'s romance with the son of a lingerie factory owner ends with the girl's pregnancy. Such a turn does not please her future mother-in-law at all. An enterprising woman hires handsome Raul (Javier Bardem) to seduce Sylvia, but she herself falls in love with him.

16-year-old Penelope Cruz made her debut in Bigas Luna's erotic melodrama Ham, Ham and instantly became a sex symbol. On the set, she met her future husband Javier Bardem - but they will get married only 15 years later.

2. Country of hills and valleys

USA, 1998.
Western, drama, melodrama.
Duration: 114 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 1.

Good friends Pete Calder (Billy Crudup) and Tough Matson (Woody Harrelson) return home after the end of World War II. Pete is waiting for the beautiful Josefa (Penelope Cruz), but he falls in love with the femme fatale Mona (Patricia Arquette). Later it turns out that Mona is having an affair with Matson. The formed love triangle becomes a serious test for the friendship of men.

In the western of the famous British director Stephen Frears, Penelope Cruz played a very small role. Still, this project was important for the career of an actress, because it became her first English-language film. After "Land of Hills and Valleys", the girl was noticed in Hollywood.

3. The girl of your dreams

Spain, 1998.
Drama.
Duration: 121 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 9.

German Nazis invite Spanish filmmakers to their homeland to shoot a musical comedy together. Soon, the members of the film crew realize that the hospitality of the Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels is due to his far from professional interest in the actress Macarena Granada (Penelope Cruz).

For this role, Penelope was awarded the Spanish National Film Award "Goya" in the nomination "Best Actress of the Year".

4. All about my mother

Spain, France, 1999.
Melodrama.
Duration: 101 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 9.

In the life of single mother Manuela (Cecilia Roth) misfortune comes - her son Esteban dies in a car accident. From the diary of the deceased, the poor woman learns that the boy wanted to meet his father. Manuela sets out to find her ex in Barcelona. Only now he is already a former. It turns out that Lola (that is the name of the prodigal father) managed to change sex and become a transgender woman.

In the festival melodrama of Pedro Almodovar, Penelope Cruz played Sister Maria Rosa, a young HIV-positive nun. Critics took the picture enthusiastically. The film has won 40 different awards, including Oscars, Golden Globes, Césars, BAFTAs, two Cannes Film Festival awards and seven Goya awards.

5. Cocaine

USA, 2001.
Drama, crime film, biography.
Duration: 124 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 6.

The plot is based on real events. The film follows George Jacob Young (Johnny Depp), one of the key figures in the US cocaine trade in the 1970s and early 1980s. The story begins with George moving to Los Angeles, selling marijuana, and ending up in jail. But that doesn't stop the hero. Released, George becomes the largest cocaine dealer and conducts joint business with the famous drug lord Pablo Escobar.

Penelope Cruz embodied the sensual image of Myrtha Young, the wife and fighting friend of the protagonist. It is curious that the actress also starred in the film "Escobar", where she played the journalist Virginia Vallejo - the mistress of Pablo Escobar.

6. Vanilla sky

USA, 2001.
Melodrama, psychological thriller, science fiction.
Duration: 136 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 9.

Rich heir and womanizer David Ames (Tom Cruise) meets lovely Sophia (Penelope Cruz) at a party. He immediately realizes that this is the girl he needs. But after a car accident set up by his jealous mistress Julie (Cameron Diaz), handsome David turns into a disabled person with a mutilated face. However, a successful plastic surgery returns the hero to his former attractiveness. Sophia is next to him, but something is clearly going wrong. David is haunted by strange visions, and the line between hallucinations and reality becomes more and more blurred.

It is curious that for his literal remake, the American Cameron Crowe borrowed not only the script of the Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar, but also Penelope Cruz. In the original film, Open Your Eyes, the actress played the same role.

7. Don't leave

Italy, Spain, UK, 2004.
Drama, melodrama.
Duration: 125 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 1.

The heartbreaking drama directed by Sergio Castellitto (who played one of the main roles in his film) tells about the highly controversial relationship between a man and a woman in cinema. A successful doctor and wonderful family man Timoteo (Sergio Castellitto) is inexorably attracted to the impoverished immigrant of Italy (Penelope Cruz).

The painting by Sergio Castellitto occupies a special place in the heart of Penelope Cruz. The actress speaks enthusiastically and warmly about working with the director. The film won two Italian national film awards, as well as several other European awards.

8. Noel

USA, Canada, 2004.
Drama.
Duration: 90 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 2.

The action takes place in New York before Christmas. The life-loving beauty Nina (Penelope Cruz) does not have a relationship with her jealous fiancé Mike (Paul Walker). A girl simply cannot love a person who does not trust her so much. In the meantime, Mike will have to seriously rethink his behavior - after all, his own personal life was under the persistent attention of a middle-aged man Artie (Alan Arkin). The old man is sure that Mike is the reincarnation of his late wife.

In parallel, the story of a pretty forty-year-old publisher Rosa (Susan Sarandon) unfolds. For 10 years now, she has been caring for a terminally ill mother suffering from dementia. Because of this, Rosa is very unhappy and lonely. She does not yet know that the upcoming holiday will bring her a real miracle and will become a turning point in her destiny.

The Christmas drama directed by Chezz Palminteri was remembered by the audience not only for the soulful idea of how important it is to listen to your heart and believe in miracles, but also for Penelope's incendiary passionate dance.

9. Sugar

USA, 2005.
Adventure, comedy, action.
Duration: 124 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 0.

Former SEAL Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey), fellow Al Giordino (Steve Zahn) and Dr. Eva Rojas (Penelope Cruz) team up to prevent global environmental disaster. They are opposed by General Kazim (Lenny James), who will do everything to get rid of the curious foreigners.

The film was based on the novel of the same name by Clive Kassler. The author insisted that Salma Hayek play the role of Dr. Rojas. But the studio, for commercial reasons, still chose Penelope Cruz for the main female role. The name of the European actress in the credits should have helped the film collect a decent box office, but the picture failed.

10. Good night

USA, 2007.
A romantic comedy.
Duration: 93 minutes.
IMDb: 5, 8.

Not the most successful composer Harry (Martin Freeman) is tired of writing music for commercials, instead of doing real creativity. And his relationship with his wife Dora (Gwyneth Paltrow) is terribly boring and monotonous. Everything changes when Harry falls asleep: after all, in the world of dreams, the beautiful Anna (Penelope Cruz) visits him. The main character falls in love with a girl who doesn't exist. And the further, the more difficult it is for him to distinguish dreams from reality.

Leisurely auteur cinema with a brilliant cast. In addition to the named celebrities, Danny de Vito and Simon Pegg starred in the film. But the main star of the tape is definitely the inimitable Penelope Cruz in the role of the protagonist's dream dream.

11. Return

Spain, 2006.
Tragicomedy, drama.
Duration: 121 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 6.

The film by Pedro Almodovar is set in Madrid. Young Spanish woman Raimunda (Penelope Cruz) lives with her daughter and husband, an unemployed alcoholic. Her loving sister Sole is a hairdresser who works from home. The girls' parents died in a terrible fire three years ago, and the events of that night still haunt the sisters.

Another collaboration between Cruz and Almodovar was a turning point in the career of the actress. The role in "The Return" earned Penelope her first Oscar nomination and an invitation to play in Woody Allen's new film.

12. Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Spain, USA, 2008.
Melodrama.
Duration: 96 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 1.

Two American women - Vicki (Rebecca Hall) and Christina (Scarlett Johansson) - come to Spain on vacation. Vicki is about to get married, but Christina is not averse to having a good time. In Barcelona, they meet the charismatic Spanish artist Juan (Javier Bardem), who flirts with both of them. While Vicki is trying to sort out her feelings, Christina falls in love with Juan and moves in with him. But the artist's ex-wife, the eccentric and sexy Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz), suddenly intervenes in the cloudless idyll of these two.

Woody Allen argued that he sees only Penelope Cruz and no other actress in the role of the eccentric Mary Elena. It's hard to argue with that - Penelope really steals attention in every scene.

The film "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" brought the actress her first and well-deserved Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

13. Open embrace

Spain, 2009.
Drama, thriller.
Duration: 127 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 2.

The lover of the generous businessman Ernesto Martel (Jose Luis Gomez), the beautiful Lena (Penelope Cruz) dreams of becoming an actress. On the set of her first film, she falls in love with director Harry Kane (Louis Omar). The offended rich man subtly takes revenge on the girl and her chosen one.

The work of the actress in her next joint project with Pedro Almodovar was awarded the Goya Prize and other European awards.

14. Nine

USA, 2009.
Melodrama, musical.
Duration: 118 minutes.
IMDb: 5, 8.

Renowned Italian filmmaker Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) is going through a personal and professional crisis. He is completely confused in relationships with women and, right before filming his new picture, runs away to a chic hotel on the seaside. But he does not succeed in enjoying the solitude and company of his mistress Carla (Penelope Cruz): a creative team arrives at the hotel in full force. Guido makes a film and in parallel is torn between Carla and his wife Louise (Marion Cotillard), whose love he is trying to return.

Another memorable work of the actress - the role in the Hollywood adaptation of the famous film by Federico Fellini "8½".

Carla could have been played by Renee Zellweger, but in the end the role went to Penelope Cruz. The character is largely based on the real image of Anna Giovannini, with whom Fellini had a secret love relationship for a long time.

15. Roman adventures

USA, Italy, Spain, 2012.
Comedy, melodrama.
Duration: 112 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 3.

The four storylines of Woody Allen's romantic comedy are united by one setting - beautiful, magical Rome. The famous American architect John (Alec Baldwin) recalls the days of his youth. A simple clerk Leopoldo (Roberto Benigni) one day wakes up famous for no reason. The funeral home worker discovers the talent of an opera singer, which manifests itself exclusively in the soul.

Well, a provincial young couple - Antonio and Milli - comes to Rome in the hope that her husband, with the help of influential relatives, will get a prestigious job as a lawyer. But things are not going as smoothly as they wanted. Because of the confusion, Antonio appears before his relatives in the company of the prostitute Anna (Penelope Cruz), whom he has to pass off as his wife.

16. Ma Ma

Spain, 2015.
Drama.
Duration: 111 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 4.

Schoolteacher Magda (Penelope Cruz) is raising her son alone. One day, doctors give her a terrible diagnosis - breast cancer. It is not easy for the heroine to come to terms with this, but chance brings her to a man who has lost his family. The daughter died, and the wife is in a coma. Gradually, the heroes are getting closer and closer and gaining a second wind thanks to the feelings that gripped them.

The drama directed by Julio Medem can be safely recommended to anyone who wants to see Penelope Cruz outside of her usual image of a fatal beauty. For the role of Magda, the actress received a nomination for the Goya Award.

17. American Crime Story

USA, 2016 - present.
Drama, crime.
Duration: two seasons.
IMDb: 8, 5.

The second season of the crime series American Crime Story follows the murder of famous fashion designer Gianni Versace. The suspects include the designer's family and the Italian mafia.

Penelope Cruz was to play a real person - Donatella Versace, the sister of the murdered fashion designer, who, after his death, headed the fashion house. While working on the role, the actress paid a lot of attention to her character's Italian accent.

The series has received excellent reviews and numerous awards, including four Golden Globe nominations.

18. Labyrinths of the past

Spain, 2018.
Psychological thriller.
Duration: 109 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 0.

The wife of an Argentine businessman, the Spaniard Laura (Penelope Cruz), arrives in her native village for her sister's wedding. In the midst of the party, Laura's daughter is kidnapped. Longtime lover Paco (Javier Bardem) comes to the aid of the heroine.

Filming in the festival drama of Iranian director Asghar Farhadi reminded Penelope Cruz of her collaboration with Pedro Almodovar. Farhadi is very picky about his actors, but Penelope is not at all afraid of this.