Vete de mí (2006) User Reviews

Agreeable and charming comedy with enjoyable roles, brief drama and magnificent interpretations

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 28 November 2019]

Entertaining dramedy about an egoistic 30-year-old son called Guillermo, Juan Diego Botto, who goes home his father named Sebastian , Juan Diego, when he makes an argument with his mother .Guillermo tells him he is at University, as a third degree law student. Sebastian is separated and living with a youngest woman, Ana : Cristina Plazas. Then father and son go home his mother, Rosa Maria Sarda, the ex-wife tells that Guillermo is a liar who has been studying Jew language, Veterinary, and shooting shorts and working as a D. J.

Amusing and enjoyable comedy concerning about a weird family, a peculiar relationship betwen a stressed father and a selfish son, dealing with an inter-generational conflict. There is a deep character studio about two main roles, father and son. Both of them are selfish people and both, the veteran Santiago and the reliant Guillermo, suffering the Peter Pan Syndrome and they seem compete to be the person more egoistic . At the end the father results to be as immature and frustrated as his son. Juan Diego gives an excellent performance as the unsure father who is annoyed when his son arrives at home, and Diego Botto is top-notch as the eternal adolescent who doesn't want to mature. The film pays an enjoyable tribute to stage acting, as we are watching theatre playing with special appearance from notorious players as Ana Maria Vidal, Esperanza Roy and Jose Sazatornil, Saza, at his last film.

Sour and interesting script written by Jonás Trueba and Vicente Garcia León himself, both of whom are sons of the known directors , Jose Luis Garcia Sanchez and Fernando Trueba, previously collaborated in the film "Mas Pena que Gloria". The motion picture was professionaly directed by Vicente Garcia León , though it has some flaws and gaps. Vicente is a good writer and director who has made a few films , such as : "Selfie" , a segment of "Hay Motivo" , "Mas pena que gloria", and directing some TV series as "Hispania la leyenda", "Familia", " vota por Juan" and "Derecho a soñar" . Rating 6.5/10. Decent dramedy.

This "Vete De Mi" achieved a great number of awards and nominations as : CEC nominee Juan Diego. Goya best actor to Juan Diego and nominee Juan Diego Botto. San Sebastian Film Festival Golden Shell best actor : Juan Diego. Spanish Actors Prize to main actor Juan Diego. Turia Film Film Festival winner best new director Vicente Garcia Leon. Viña del Mar best actor Juan Diego.

Well acted but inorganic

[Imdbidia · 6/10 · 15 February 2011]

A Spanish tragicomedy about the declining life of a second-rate theater actor, superbly performed by iconic Spanish actor Juan Diego.

The film tells the story of Santiago -an alcoholic actor in personal and professional crisis- who lives with his much younger girlfriend Ana, and is visited by his estranged son Guillermo. The movie depicts the life crisis of many old actors whose small and independent theater companies have been disappearing, or their age turned them from leading actor to nobody.

Juan Diego is splendid in this character, which he plays with conviction, honesty, rawness and credibility, perhaps because he knows well the sort of actor he's playing as he's been acting since he was a teen. Most of the supporting actors are also supporting characters, that is, their stories are there to offer a 360 degree human view of Santiago. Thus, the character of Ana -nicely played by Cristina Plazas- is there to bring out the macho selfish and emotional cruelty of Santiago as a person. The character of Santiago's son Guillermo -very well played by Botto- is there, on the contrary, to bring out Santiago's weakness and vulnerability. However, Guillermo's character takes a life of its own in the movie, and he's really intriguing and ambiguous, and keeps the viewer wondering if he's what he says he is.

The main problem with the movie is the connection of the characters between themselves, which I found not organic enough. The story, on the other hand, seems not to go anywhere, and all the fantastic work of the actors is somewhat wasted. In fact, the end is not open nor close, as if the director had stopped filming almost at the end and never got back to ending the movie. Moreover, there are too many dialogs and deep monologues, that are a bit pretentious and not interesting enough, which can tire the viewer too.

Both Diego and Botto won a Goya and the Spanish Actor Union's Award for their respective performances, while Diego also won the prize to the best leading actor at the San Sebastian Film Festival that same year.