Some things sneak up virtually unannounced, such that when the result is far more satisfying than one might erstwhile have presupposed, the surprise is even more gratifying. Such is the case with this Argentinian-Spanish co-production, mostly filmed in Paris. On seeing the IMDb voting average my reaction was something like: `ya veremos..........'.
Good interpretations by all the cast, especially by Fernando Fernán Gómez and Leonardo Sbaraglia, hold the spectator, and the film grows on you as the events unfold, admirably helped along by Víctor Reyes' music, from soft and melancholic to tense and rhythmic patterns a little in the style of Philip Glass.
The old man is dying in a Parisian hospital and all the family gather around him; the youngest son, Víctor comes all the way from Argentina with his girl-friend. But it is he who begins to unravel mysteries of the past, as the old man´s mind seems to be locked on events of forty years ago.
Well built-up story line, moving with logical ease from scene to scene with good characterization all round. The denouément seemed unnecessarily stretched; it could - should - have finished on the benches of the railway station; the ensuing brief scene rounding off the film is as foreseeable as unnecessary, and added nothing to what had already been stated.
Geraldine Chaplin does not usually go too well with me, and so it is in this film; I think it is that ever-present British accent speaking Spanish that annoys me a little; perhaps this is only a little mania of mine, as my own accent speaking Spanish is no better!
Highly recommendable film for those who look for real drama without over-the-top interpretations ` a la Hollywood' and can concentrate on the dialogues and development of a nicely filmed and told story.
Good interpretations by all the cast, especially by Fernando Fernán Gómez and Leonardo Sbaraglia, hold the spectator, and the film grows on you as the events unfold, admirably helped along by Víctor Reyes' music, from soft and melancholic to tense and rhythmic patterns a little in the style of Philip Glass.
The old man is dying in a Parisian hospital and all the family gather around him; the youngest son, Víctor comes all the way from Argentina with his girl-friend. But it is he who begins to unravel mysteries of the past, as the old man´s mind seems to be locked on events of forty years ago.
Well built-up story line, moving with logical ease from scene to scene with good characterization all round. The denouément seemed unnecessarily stretched; it could - should - have finished on the benches of the railway station; the ensuing brief scene rounding off the film is as foreseeable as unnecessary, and added nothing to what had already been stated.
Geraldine Chaplin does not usually go too well with me, and so it is in this film; I think it is that ever-present British accent speaking Spanish that annoys me a little; perhaps this is only a little mania of mine, as my own accent speaking Spanish is no better!
Highly recommendable film for those who look for real drama without over-the-top interpretations ` a la Hollywood' and can concentrate on the dialogues and development of a nicely filmed and told story.