streetbuff This unique story revolves around an angel from Heaven and a fallen angel from Hell who are both sent to Earth to compete over the soul of a boxer.In great contrast to so many of her Hollywood movie roles, Penelope Cruz is shot in this film as a less than desirable character. In fact, the most enjoyable part of the movie results from the fact that the angel from Hell that Cruz is playing is the condemned should of a former mafia hit-man or thug, so all through the movie she is playing an angel pretending to be a human, but also was only ever a man in real life so she has to pretend to be a woman while fulfilling her angel role on Earth. So Cruz pretending to be a man at heart who is awkwardly trying to pretend to be a woman creates a magnificent off-kilter dark comedy. If for nothing else, the movie is worth viewing just to see Penelope dance around her room (in the style a man would dance) to the original 1970's song "Kung-Fu Fighting".

Chrysanthepop Agustín Díaz Yanes's mesmerizing, quirky and funny 'Sin Noticias de Dios' is a refreshing take on heave and hell on earth. With an original and amusing premise and strong writing, it is a fun ride all the way. I haven't seen anything like it. The humour is a good mix of quirkiness, dryness and sarcasm that works on multiple levels. It's funny how a black and white 50's French setting is chosen to depict heaven while a dirty (perhaps South American prison) setting is chosen to portray hell. Similarly language selection is interesting as French is spoken in heaven, English is spoken in hell and Spanish on Earth.Heaven is shown as a very romantic, classy and glamorous place to be at (a bit like the romanticized image one sees in classic French films) while hell is quite the opposite. Fanny Ardant and Gemma Jones play the leaders of the respective places (and they're both terrific). Their character recruit Carmen and Lola to conquer fallen boxer Manny's soul. Of course battle ensues when the two recruits come face to face but not the way you think.Yanes assembles a n enviable cast that includes Penelope Cruz, Victoroia Abril, Gemma Jones, Gael Garcia Bernal, Elena Anaya, Elsa Pataky, Fanny Ardant, Demián Bichir, Cristina Marcos, Peter McDonald, Luis Tosar and more. All the actors do a great job. Abril sure is stunning and she sure can sing. Her rendition of 'I Want To Be Evil' is a must-see. Penelope Cruz has a tricky role and she does full justice to it. She is sexy, spunky, streetsmart and not to be messed with but at the same time she's just 'like one of the guys'. Saying more would be revealing too much.On the technical side, it's a very well made film. Colour is used very effectively. The cinematography is first rate. I especially enjoyed the long single shots. And of course, the soundtrack is magic.'Sin Noticias de Dios' is one of a kind. I'm surprised it's received so little recognition but it's a thrill ride all the way.

Claudio Carvalho When the leaders of Heaven and Hell, Marina D'Angelo (Fanny Ardant) and Davenport (Gael García Bernal) respectively, decide to fight for the soul of the decadent boxer Manny (Demián Bichir), they send their best agents to Earth. The singer Lola Nevado (Victoria Abril) from Heaven and the former gangster Carmen Ramos (Penélope Cruz) from Hell are assigned to get his soul, and they have a tough dispute to accomplish their mission."Sin Noticias de Dios" is one of most original comedies I have ever seen. The story is very funny, ironical and charming, with splendid lines and dialogs in the screenplay. The direction is very precise; the wonderful cast, with a very charming and sexy Penélope Cruz; a stunning (as usual) Victoria Abril singing in a perfect Portuguese; an elegant and classy Fanny Ardant; and a very funny Gael García Bernal, has also the participation of Demián Bichir (from "Sexo Pudor Y Lágrimas", "Santitos" and "In the Time of the Butterflies"), Elsa Pataky (from "Beyond Re-Animator" and "Romasanta") and an uncredited last scene with Javier Bardem. The vision of Heaven as Paris, Hell as an American prison (could be a South-American one – certainly they are worse) and the Hell's administrator as an American president in his car with his body-guards are absolutely hilarious. Victoria Abril singing "I'm Evil" and Penélope Cruz dancing an extremely sexy dance are delightful. I highly recommend this movie, which has two (2) wins and seventeen (17) nominations of festivals, for those viewers that like a refreshing and very different comedy. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Sem Notícias de Deus" ("Without News From God")

carlacryptic I rented this film because of the cast and worried that the subject matter would bore me but far from it. It was treated in an innovative and quirky way which kept me interested and laughing, at times out loud, and glued to the screen to see what would come next. All of the actors were great but I especially loved Penelope Cruz in this film. I have found her to be competent in other films but never really got how good an actor she could be until seeing this film. Fanny Ardant was a great choice for her role, as was Bernal. It was great seeing Gemma Jones in something worthy of her once again, albeit a relatively small part. Really enjoyed this film.