7/10
Interesting as well as agreeable film about a boy who suffers a strange brain disease
21 May 2013
Dramatic film dealing with loneliness , friendship , a love story , old man-young boy relationship and many other things . This is a perceptible and enjoyable portrait of a young and his adventures in the big city . It is an intense drama about a boy who lives in a bubble because of a rare brain disease . An odd but compelling film dealing with Samuel (Juan Jose Ballesta of El Bola), an adolescent who suffers from a deep sleep (similarly to River Phoenix's ¨My own private Idaho) , losing all notion of time and it is the heart of this flick . He usually has sleepiness and suddenly suffers black out . To complicate things, Samuel falls asleep in the back of a vehicle . A bit later on , he'll end up in Madrid, a city where he doesn't know anybody . As the center of the story is the change in his life, at almost all levels . In Madrid he embarks on a quest to find work . Samuel encounters a job at a supermarket, but he is fired when suffers narcolepsy . At the same time, he meets a quirk girl named Consuelo (Adriana Ugarte of ¨Castillos De Carton¨ and ¨Combustion¨) and likes Samuel from the beginning . Not having means to provide for himself , Samuel goes on looking for work and he is hired as a helper for a old man (veteran and prestigious secondary actor Manuel Alexandre). Meanwhile , the son of the old man harasses and mistreats to Samuel .

¨Cabeza De Perro¨is a poetic as well as bittersweet movie, mostly deals with loneliness , friendship and an enjoyable love story . This is a haunting and pretty sad tale about a young boy suffering from a rare brain disorder and spells that afflict to him , along with his survival-fight into a big city . The film works on many levels, but does have its flaws . Some excessive sleep suffering scenes make the film drag in the middle as well as an exaggerated use of voice in off . The film is an allegory for a lot of things . Mostly I see it as a commentary on the basic human needs for love , job , family and home . Juan Jose Ballesta in his finest performance , it's not bad, but it probably could have been better . Sympathetic acting buy Adriana Ugarte as a kindred spirit and Manuel Alexandre as Angelito, an Alzheimer sufferer . Good support cast such as Jordi Dauder as Samuel's father , Ana Gracia as Consuelo's mother ,Ana Wagener as Rosa , Julián Villagrán as Eduardo and Alex O'Dogherty as Domingo/Narrator . Colorful and appropriate cinematography by Alex Catalan , a good cameraman who has photographed a lot of successful films such as ¨Even the rain¨ , ¨Grupo 7¨, ¨Habitacion En Roma¨ and ¨Voz Dormida¨. Emotive and adequate musical score by Enrique Justo and the same director . The motion picture was well written and directed by Santi Amodeo . This is his third film , he had previously directed ¨El Factor Pilgrim¨ and ¨Astronautas¨. ¨Cabeza De Perro¨ is a rare flick , and not everyone would enjoy it or get it ; as it results to be a sensitive and touching motion picture though with some depressing moments. But if you're looking for something different, thought-provoking, and of course, want to see Juan Jose Ballesta , then take a look.

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