The so-called ''comedia madrileña'' or ''nueva comedia madrileña'' ('Madrid comedy' or 'New Madrid comedy') was a film trend or film label for urban comedies in Spain that emerged during the Transition. It was led by filmmakers such as

Fernando Colomo Fernando Colomo Gómez (born 2 February 1946) is a Spanish film producer, screenwriter and film director. He has also acted in small roles in his own and other's films. He is regarded as the father of the so-called '' comedia madrileña''. Fi ...

and

Fernando Trueba Fernando Rodríguez Trueba (born 18 January 1955), known as Fernando Trueba, is a Spanish filmmaker, writer, producer and book editor. Career Between 1974 and 1979, Trueba worked as a film critic for Spain's leading daily newspaper '' El Paí ...

. Emphasizing the urban setting of Madrid and urban concerns, it consists of light, carefree comedies. Characters display an unmistakable progressive worldview, with the stories tending to bring to light the inner contradictions of the generation who had grown in opposition to the

Francoist regime Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in ...

, even if the explicitly political elements generally feature as a backdrop. The sketch of the typical protagonist of the early ''comedia madrileña'' is that of a forty-year-old urban male with an mplicituniversity education, trapped in an

existential crisis Existential crises are inner conflicts characterized by the impression that life lacks meaning and confusion about one's personal identity. They are accompanied by anxiety and stress, often to such a degree that they disturb one's normal funct ...

. Despite some commonalities, mainstream ''comedia madrileña'' titles usually bear a tangential relation to the so-called '' Movida madrileña'', insofar the latter was conventionally regarded as more "underground". However

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and author. His films are distinguished by Melodrama (film genre), melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular c ...

took over Colomo's template and moved it to a "much more transgressive" environment, indeed diving into the ''Movida madrileña'' in '' Pepi, Luci, Bom'' (1980). Seminal works of the are considered to be either

's ' (1977) or '' What's a Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?'' (1978), also by Colomo. Another iconic title belonging to the film trend is

's '' Opera prima'' (1980). Other examples include Trueba's ', Miguel Ángel Díez's ''De fresa, limón y menta'' and

José Luis Cuerda José Luis Cuerda Martínez (18 February 19474 February 2020) was a Spanish filmmaker. He is nationally recognised and considered to be amongst the greatest and most influential Spanish directors of all time, having made such critically successfu ...

's ''Pares y nones''. A key figure in 1980s ''comedia madrileña'' films is actress

Carmen Maura María del Carmen García Maura (born 15 September 1945) is a Spanish actress. In a career that has spanned six decades, she has starred in films such as '' Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown'', '' ¡Ay Carmela!'', '' Common Wealth'', an ...

. The formula exhausted with the generational leap and the aging of the young "''

progres Progres may refer to: * Progres, Kardzhali Province, a village in Momchilgrad Municipality, Kardzhali Province, Bulgaria * El Progrés, Badalona, Catalonia, Spain * Toyota ''Progrès'', a mid-sized Japanese luxury sedan * FC Progrès Niederkorn ( ...

''" of the Transition. The template was somewhat updated to a new social context in the 1990s with films such as

Emilio Martínez Lázaro Emilio may refer to: * Emilio Navaira, a Mexican-American singer often called "Emilio" * Emilio (given name) * ''Emilio'' (film), a 2008 film by Kim Jorgensen See also * Emílio (disambiguation) * Emilios (disambiguation) Emilios, or Aimilios, (G ...

's ''

The Worst Years of Our Lives ''The Worst Years of Our Lives'' () is a 1994 Spanish comedy film directed by Emilio Martínez Lázaro and written by David Trueba which stars Gabino Diego, Ariadna Gil, and Jorge Sanz. The film was nominated for four Goya Awards, winning one (for ...

'' (1994) and

Álvaro Fernández Armero Álvaro Fernández Armero (born 6 March 1969) is a Spanish film director, writer, producer and actor; who is known for ''El columpio'' (1993), ''Vergüenza (TV series), Vergüenza'' (2017) and ''The Art of Dying (film), The Art of Dying'' (2000). ...

's '' Todo es mentira'' (1994).

References

{{reflist Urban fiction Madrid in fiction Cinema of Spain Cinema in Madrid