The fact that this is the very first commentary here shows that we don't deal with one of the most famous movies of the great Spanish master, and this fact is really stunning. Even if not set in the dance medium, especially flamenco and tango, with which Saura is generally linked, this movie is highly personal. Saura is one of the very few directors who succeed to be very national in its cinematographic language."Elisa" is no exception: the outdoor images, looking like De Greco and Goya paintings, the stunning performance of the actors remembering sometimes flamenco intensity, give to this movie a glorious cinematographic presence. The issue which stands in the center of this movie is a universally and uneasy one: the relation between father and daughter. Saura knows to avoid a tabloid depiction of this relation, although it doesn't avoid the border-line oedipal tensions. Throughout settled mostly in a chamber-music like duet, it doesn't have the claustrophobic Bergman character. The movie is a love duet, with its aggressive and passionate outcome. Awesome experience. .
Review of Elisa, My Life
