A satire about egos and moviemaking, "Official Competition" is a fun film about various characters manipulating things for their own, selfish agendas. Directed by Argentinian filmmakers, Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat (both of whom cowrote it with Gastón's brother, Andrés), this wily comedy is set in Spain where the wealthy Humberto Suárez (José Luis Gómez) as just celebrated his 80th birthday. Reflecting on his legacy, Humberto wants to be remembered "by something that lasts — like a bridge, or a movie!" He decides to produce a great film and buys "Rivalry," a Nobel prize-winning novel for the esteemed filmmaker, Lola Cuevas (Penélope Cruz), to direct.
Humberto has not read the book, so Lola spellbindingly recounts its knotty plot about Manuel, who sends his brother Pedro to jail for killing their parents in a drunk driving accident. While Pedro is in jail, Manuel has a romance with Lucy, a prostitute. However, when Pedro is released, he falls in love with Lucy which causes more tension between the brothers. Lola is going to adapt this story "loosely," and confirms that she will hire the master actor Iván Torres (Oscar Martinez) to play Manuel, and movie star Félix Rivero (Antonio Banderas) for Pedro. The two actors, who have never performed together, hate each other. A rivalry, indeed, ensues.
