Reviews: RottenTomatoes (59%), IMDB (7.0), Wikipedia, Amazon.

Watch online: YouTube.

Similar movies: anime.

Summary: A professional Spanish cyclist Pepe Benengeli competes in a bicycle race in his hometown in Andalusia. The race is on the same day that his former his former girlfriend is getting married to his brother. Even though he is quite upset, Pepes is loved and supported throughout the race by his extended family, including his brother and his fiancee.

Pepe is originally meant to be a backup racer whose job is to assist his more prominent teammate to win. During the race, he accidentally overhears a conversation that his sponsor intends to fire him after the race. Realizing that he may not find another team for the next season and that he has nothing left to lose, he disregards his instructions and sets out to win the race for himself.

I loved the festive mood, the joyful music, the drama leading to the photo finish, and the inanity of it all :)And I loved the last scene, where Pepe shows his sponsors how to eat a pickled eggplant, a specialty of his hometown.

The movie was recommended by Anime Movie Guide, which is a comprehensive guide to Japanese anime movies.