It's understandable that some foreign titles don't really work in translation. Take this Spanish film; its original title is Lope, after the 16th century poet and playwright Lope de Vega, on whose life it's loosely based.

Now clearly releasing the film in the UK under its original name would have simply been a touch of death. The problem is, the name they've used for its international release doesn't fair much better. It alludes to a western style theme, no doubt with guns a-blazing at some point. It certainly doesn't conjure up images of a sensitive, talented poet who is caught up in a love triangle. Which just goes to prove how important a silly thing like a title can be.

It's a pity about the name, as underneath it lurks an impressive looking tale with a dashing hero at its heart.

Returning from war to his beloved home of Madrid, Lope (Alberto Ammann) has already decided that he has no interest in fighting again. In the immortal words of Michael Jackson, he's a lover not a fighter.

Lope is the sensitive type, keen on expressing himself and his feelings in the shape of romantic sonnets. His poetry has the power to make any woman swoon, and Lope knows it.

But it's not just lovey dovey stuff he can knock out, he also wants to write stage plays. In fact he wants to go one step further than that and change the way in which plays are currently written. However, not everyone is happy with this wave of change, in particular Velàzquez (Juan Diego); he runs the most successful theatre troupe in the city and he knows what his public wants. Or so he thinks.

His opinion changes however, when his daughter Elena (Pilar López de Ayala) champions Lope's work. But it's not just the words of Lope she is interested in. Thankfully for her, the feeling is mutual.

Things get a little complicated however when Lope rekindles an old friendship with Isabel (Leonor Watling), which develops into something more. They get even more complicated when Lope learns of a secret that Elena has been hiding from him.

Lope soon finds himself in a position where his words of love manage to get him into more trouble than words can say.

I wanted to show you how beautiful my city is from up here, but all that scaffolding over there spoils it.!

Although Brazilian director Andrucha Waddington takes some artistic license himself with Lope's story (by condensing a number of years into a few months, for instance), the bare bones of it are based in truth.

He certainly lucks out with his Argentine male lead; Ammann epitomises the dashing dandy of a man in Lope; with his unkempt artistic look that is bound to drive the ladies from any century wild. The problem is that despite the crux of the film relying on a sweeping sensation of romance throughout, there's just no connection between Ammann and his two leading ladies. Any scene he shares with either woman sadly lacks passion. Which is a bit of a stumbling block for a romantic film.

Where Waddington makes up for this major disappointment however is in his sets and costume departments, which really help to create a sensual feel to the piece. He may have missed out on catching authentic relationships on screen, but he does have a good eye for bringing out the romance in a location.

Ammann does his best to maintain an air of love, but not even setting fire to both leading ladies with a Bunsen burner would be enough to create the necessary chemistry needed.

Even though neither the film's UK title or passionless female leads help the film's cause, the fact Ammann's performance and the attractive world he dashes around in, as well as Waddington's tight direction, are enough to have the film leave a fond impression, if not fall completely head over heels with it.