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Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem: the most beautiful couple in cinema together on screen
Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, the ultimate couple in the cinema industry, are finally reuniting on the big screen in Bunker, the upcoming film by French director Florian Zeller. Numéro takes a closer look at this exciting and ambitious project.
A legendary couple, on and off screen
Married for fifteen years, Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem form a charismatic and talented duo. From glamorous appearances on the world’s most prestigious red carpets to countless roles on screen, the two Spanish actors can captivate any audience. Discreet by nature, the couple have nonetheless built a strong reputation both individually, and then together…
Although they first met in 1992 on the set of Bigas Luna’s film Jamón Jamón, it was only a decade later that Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem fell in love. It happened during the filming of Woody Allen’s feature Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Playing a sensual and turbulent love triangle with Scarlett Johansson, the two actors got caught up in their own game off-screen. A tension felt by every viewer of the film… the Cruz-Bardem myth was born.
Since the 1990s, the couple has starred together in numerous projects, including Más que amor, frenesí (1996), Love Can Seriously Damage Your Health (1996), Live Flesh (1997), Don’t Tempt Me (2001)… Their chemistry is such that many directors have made them their go-to on-screen couple. Both before and after their relationship became official. We’ve seen them together in films like Everybody Knows (2018), Escobar (2017), and The Counselor (2013).
Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem together in Florian Zeller’s film Bunker
But since 2018, nothing. Aside from a few public appearances during awards ceremonies, the couple had not appeared together on film sets, each one pursuing their own (prestigious) cinematic path. Penélope Cruz starred in Parallel Mothers and Official Competition in 2021, then in Ferrari in 2023. Javier Bardem took on roles in The Little Mermaid (2023), Dune (2021 and 2023), and will soon appear in F1, coming out on June 25th.
The news of their reunion on the silver screen marks their tenth collaboration and is sure to create a buzz. Even more so in France, as this is the third feature film by Florian Zeller, the director, writer, and screenwriter behind the deeply moving The Son in 2021 and The Father in 2022. The premise of this new project, titled Bunker? An architect (Javier Bardem) is asked to build a bunker for a tech billionaire. The ethically questionable nature of this mission begins to weigh on his wife (Penélope Cruz), ultimately leading her to question their 17-year marriage…
With this psychological thriller, the French director wants to explore the intricacies of a long-term marriage. And who better to portray such a story than one of the most iconic couples in cinema? A duo that is deeply connected on screen and in real life.
Bunker, directed by Florian Zeller and starring Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, does not have a release date yet.
