In 2004 , Cruz appeared in the Christmas film '' Noel '' as Nina , the girlfriend of Paul Walker 's character and as Mia in the romantic drama , '' Head in the Clouds '' , set in the 1930s . '' Head in the Clouds '' performed poorly at the box office . For '' Head in the Clouds '' , Bruce Birkland of '' Jam ! Canoe '' said , " The story feels forced and the performances dreary , with the notable exception of Cruz , who seems to be in a different film from the rest of the cast . " Desson Thompson of '' The Washington Post '' was more critical ; his comment about the character 's " pronounced limp " was that " Cruz ( hardly the world 's greatest actress ) ca n't even perform without looking fake " . She also starred in Sergio Castellitto 's melodrama '' Do n't Move '' . Cruz , who learned Italian for the role , won the David di Donatello for her performance . She was also awarded the European Film Award for Best Actress for the film in 2004 . In 2005 , Cruz appeared as Dr. Eva Rojas in the action adventure '' Sahara '' . She earned $ 1.6 million for her supporting role . The film grossed $ 110 million worldwide but did not recoup its $ 160 million budget . Moviefone dubbed the film " one of the most famous flops in history " and in 2007 , listed it at 24 on its list of " Biggest Box-Office Turkeys of All Time " . Lori Hoffman of the '' Atlantic City Weekly '' felt Cruz put her " considerable acting skills on cruise control as Dr Eva Rojas " and James Berardnelli of ReelViews described Cruz 's performance as a " black hole " , that she " lacks screen presence " . Also in 2005 , Cruz appeared in '' Chromophobia '' , screened at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival and released the following year . Mathew Turner of '' View London '' said Cruz 's character Gloria , a cancer-riddled prostitute , is " actually more interesting than the main storyline " while Time Evan 's of '' Sky Movies '' wrote , " The Cruz/Ifans storyline — featuring the only two remotely sympathetic characters — never really fuses with the main plot . " Her final 2005 film was '' Do n't Move '' playing Italia . Eric Harrison of the '' Houston Chronicle '' noted that Cruz " goes all out " with her appearance and Patrick Peters of '' Empire '' magazine commented that the film 's director , who also appears in the film , was able to draw a " sensitive performance " from Cruz
2005 Cannes Film Festival
2005 Cannes Film Festival
Penélope Cruz