jmcaparros Reviews

Mia Sarah (2006)

A Romantic Comedy with Genius

[10/10 · 31 December 2006]

Gustavo Ron, the young author of MIA SARAH, possesses an own style that he drinks in the fountains of the classic big ones Yes, of original one might qualify MIA SARAH, the unusual first opera of this new director, that starts out in the feature film with a bold proposal, counterflow in the current Spanish cinema. It is more, this first feature film distills poetry, surrealism and magic, absent values in the screens of the cinematic generation of the new century.

Born in Madrid (1972), but formed in Barcelona, Gustavo Ron graduated in Production, Script and Direction in the famous London International Film School a decade ago. There he learned the profession –for he took celluloid in the blood- and started to collaborate in tasks of production and script in Spanish, French, German and American movies. At the same time, he has directed three shorts and a documentary film. Afterwards, among other works –for he also cultivates the musical composition and the poetry-, he obtained the confidence of two Galician producers: Andrés Barbé and Julio Fernández to make MIA SARAH.

This film has surprised me very positively. In the first place, for his optimistic tone -the public goes out of the happy room-, where a healthy but not naive sense of the humor presides over all the story. Next, for his neat staging. Gustavo Ron really knows cinema; he composes the scenes with neat supreme one and great sensitivity artistic, besides achieving sequences of enormous emoticons without falling in the sentimentalism nor in the concession to the audience. Sober but stimulating, amusing and lyrical at the same time, this young filmmaker has written with Edmon Roch a screen play where it is not in excess nor a frame, with some dialogs well measured -not at all usual thing in the Spanish cinema-, misses with a soundtrack of exception and a design of production, that it becomes definite in a planning in CinemaScope where the coloring likewise has a dramatic and even symbolic sense.

Filmed in Coruña, Betanzos and London, MIA SARAH has reminiscences of the great classics, as Ernst Lubitch, Frank Capra, Leo McCarey, Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen ("Singing' in the Rain"), or of young directors, as Alfonso Cuarón ("A Little Princess"), although with the personality characteristic of his author. A Spanish filmmaker that is also brilliant in the direction of his starring, all in "state of grace"; then from the Daniel Guzmán and the Verónica Sánchez (similar to "Amélie"), up to the veteran Fernando Fernán-Gómez, nothing screeches in the shining cast.

It is for this reason that the narrative gyration and the final surprise act as MIA SARAH one of the most innovative and most daring movies of that Young Spanish Cinema of which so much we are poor for a renewal of our commercial screens. Now mistake that audience -popular and intellectual public- answers favorably to the brilliant proposal of Gustavo Ron. At the moment, note his name.

The Da Vinci Code (2006)

The Fenomenon Da Vinci

[5/10 · 20 May 2006]

The minor genre of religion-fiction practically appeared with the cinematic adaptation of the novel by Henry Morton Robinson, "The Cardinal", that Otto Preminger took to the screen in 1963. Inspired by the life of the Cardinal Spellman, this tried that its publication was forbidden. Afterwards, the successful version of another best-seller would arrive: "The Shoes of the Fisherman", by Morris West, which Michael Anderson took to the cinema in 1966, and was premonitory of Pope Joannes Paulus II. However, this minor genre consolidated with "The Name of the Rose", by Umberto Eco, that Jean-Jacques Annaud directed in 1986. And now, making use of the phenomenon of sales of a book by Dan Brown (more than 40 million copies, in 44 languages), the industry of Hollywood has seen in such a thriller (like this qualifies it in the cover Mondadori in his last edition) "the kitchen of the eggs of gold".

On the famous North American novelist (born in 1964) 'the portrait' was already made in this by the Spanish journalist Ángel Sánchez, who wrote in 'El Periódico de Catalunya': "He is a brilliant and imaginative professor who, since he was kid, loves the crosswords, puzzle, riddles, symbols, etcetera, facilitated by his father, a mathematician of high level. It is for this reason that he lavishes their novels (because they are not scientific books, but novelizes fables) deciphering secret cabala. 'The Da Vinci Code' is about the secret supposition key of the Christianity: that Jesus of Nazareth married Mary of Magdala and they both had descendants. Although some have seen in Brown a mixture of John Grisham and Umberto Eco, its scarce rigor and his little demanding prose, from a literary point of view, do not do it winner of the two million sold copies in Spain and Latin America." (March 27, 2005). However, the author of the novel holds that what he describes is substantially authentic, for "secret documents" which he makes out that he knows endorse it. Even then, before the critiques that have been done him, Dan Brown has opted to add "a work of fiction" in his web that "The Da Vinci Code is a novel, that is." (January 30, 2006).

In the face of the phenomenon Da Vinci, the professor Massino Introvigne, an Italian sociologist -specialized in estrus, innovatory societies and religion-violence relationship-, has dismantled all the assertions of his North American colleague through a book titled "The Illuminati and the Priorate of Sion. The truth in 'Angels and demons' and 'The Code Da Vinci'" (2005), where he proves the falseness of Dan Brown and discovers the theory of the Great Conspiracy -in which some include masons, Templars and even extraterrestrial ones-; a com-plot that catches the simple people of today, who are so prone to simplify, the complexity of the history, in emergent, but false myths. On her part, the medievalist historian Sandra Miesel says that the book has so many errors that "I surprise myself when in The Da Vinci Code meeting something that is exact".

The company Sony-Columbia, because of the big cinematic business that her provided with the novel, bought the rights of this thriller of religion-fiction in order to carry out a commercial movie that, undoubtedly, can hurt many believers; since the Roman Catholic Church and their institutions remain insulted. With everything, although the Yankee-Japanese major was asked for she put at the beginning of the film -to avoid possible demands for calumny or defamation- of any resemblance with the reality being pure coincidence, has not agreed to do such a warning. Only Jim Kennedy, director of Communication of Sony, declared: "It is a fiction film of fiction, not a documentary. We do not want to offend anybody".

Before the premier of the film, the professor Marc Carroggio, from the Università Della Santa Croce (Roma), would pronounce himself like this: "The problem of a script of this type is that it 'criminalizes' a group of people. It presents the Church as a band of criminals that for two thousand years has been been about everything in order to keep a great lie hidden. Even if it is grotesque, and sometimes a little comical, an odious portrait of an institution ends up being offered, and is it proved that the odious portraits generate feelings of hatred in people that lack critical resources. It seems to me that we do not need more caricatures of any religion. We should be all of the part of the concord, of the tolerance, of the understanding".

Directed with more profession than formal brightness by a worker from Hollywood, Ron Howard (born in 1954), filmmaker of "A Beautiful Mind" (2001) and "Cinderella Man" (2005), with Tom Hanks (for his usual Russell Crowe, Catholic, refused the role) and Andrey Tautou (Amélie) as the protagonist couple, the film follows with quite a lot of faithfulness the tangled original text, but synthesizes the speeches, caricatures and adulterates characters (as that of the inspector Fache, which interprets Jean Reno). Likewise, insists in some violent and morbid passages perhaps also in front to the box-office. With a certain climate of suspense and a vibrating rhythm, in attractive scenarios -as the novel-, recruits the spectator to sell him "cat for hare". I think that the new movie by Ron Howard is a mere product of the series B, without hardly creative category, which soon the film goers will forget.

In a period that in Western we have condemned the caricatures of Mahoma, and some ecclesiastical authorities have already pronounced themselves against this novel and the commercial movie, one may suppose that the historians and specialists will continue disqualifying "The Da Vinci Code" as artistic and literary work for its lack of rigor and null intellectual category. It is more, if the world general public avoided the one viewed of such a film and he did not buy the video games that the Hollywood company announces would abound except these misleading productions.

The Sea Inside (I) (2004)

The "Oscarizada" movie by Amenábar

[7/10 · 5 May 2006]

His fourth film, the Alejandro Amenábar's "Sea Inside" (2004) awarded, means one more turn of nut in that obsession to control all the aspects of the reality. The death is presented here as part of the life, as something on what can be decided and is chosen by Ramón Sampedro because he says he does him more free; thing that –as he writes the philosopher Juan Pablo Serra- "is false, because that would only do he more autonomous, in his case, to decide that his life is not worthy, when in fact the dignity is something that is had and not that he decides. But is that the first premise -the death as part of the life- is also false, for he already showed us Wittgenstein in his Tractatus that the death is not an event of the life, nobody lives of the death".

However, Amenábar states that "the movie is or intends to be, first of all, a trip to the life and to the death. A trip to Galicia, to the sea and to the interior world of Ramón Sampedro". What yes is true is that the Galician quadriplegic has been personified brilliantly for Javier Bardem, with a big emotive role full of overflowing friendliness; that myth's a person who, after 28 years of irreversible illness, looked for help to finish with his life. Judging the decision taken by Sampedro -the Spanish judgeship did not make it either- does not correspond to me. And not dictating here either all the ethical aspects of his act, nor those that they have to see with a transcendent dimension of the life and of the death. However, as a specialist said, it "was not euthanasia -if this is understood in the sense of precipitating the end of the existence to avoid sufferings-, but of a suicide assisted", for little after the debut the friend that brought the cyanide to her would appear. Even then, the attractive image which Amenábar has wanted to give to his protagonist has to be stated; for he does not appear as a person that decides to die, but as a happy being, serene, conquering..., confronted with the Justice of toga, unpleasant and intransigent, and with an authoritarian Roman Catholic Church, which caricatures with an almost surrealist speech. This creative posture does not benefit his thesis.

And neither the sentimental tone with which he conceives some scenes, full of normativeness and lyricism, that have a clear effect in the spirit of the spectator. A public that is sat dragged by the beautiful images of the natural scenarios and the deep humanity of the characters, all too perfect. In this sense, the same Amenábar recognizes his artistic manipulation: "For dramatic reasons, and to condense in those two hours what was the experience of Ramón, characters have appeared and others have disappeared. The character of Julia, for example, is a compendium of several women. One of the things that more surprised me of Ramón is that it was said that he had a harem of women to his around. Julia summarizes the women that fell in love with him when. On the other hand quadriplegic was already, the nephew, Javi, has to do with the real nephew, but have incorporated experiences of the nieces to him. Those changes allow the narration to be more fluid and more effective".

"Sea Inside", undoubtedly has great formal perfection, besides a surrounding score -music written also by Amenábar-, with a song of Luz Casal that it intends to transmit a message of life and optimism. We are in the face of a work of remarkable aesthetic category, that contains a singing to the life and also to the death. On this last aspect, the Spanish filmmaker would pronounce himself like this: "I think that yes there is a positioning in the film, but we have wanted for both options to be reflected. But I yes, I am in favor. I can understand Ramón and set at his side". To such a purpose, the director has conceived an interview invented between a fictitious Father Jesuit and Sampedro that, for Manichean, subtracts credibility to his argumentation.

With everything, the public has thrown himself to see "Sea Inside". And when for its hard subject it should be minor, the authors have managed to make it tremendously commercial by overcoming the suffering and to manipulate the real history skilfully. While, Alejandro Amenábar, sacrificing the rigor, justifies himself: "I wanted to make a movie of those that arrive to the heart of the people". Even he has captivated the members of the Academy Awards.

Volver (I) (2006)

Another Soap Opera made in Almodóvar

[6/10 · 30 April 2006]

"Volver" is a much more mature and more moderate work that his previous, that takes up the style that made him famous more than two decades ago: "¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto?" (1984), also with Carmen Maura as starring. Now, Pedro Almodóvar has abandoned the gay aesthetics's and the get out of control to his already having us used, to offer a tribute to the world that saw him to be born: his memories in a place of La Mancha. "Volver" is already an a little autobiographical film, which has served him to his author for a being exorcised, that besides paying homage to his mother –as he already did in "La flor de mi secreto" (1995), for me his best film- today deceased, evokes memories and portrays the idiosyncrasy of his country.

With everything, "Volver" has not convinced me as artistic work. The story tastes of another soap opera made in Almodóvar, with a touch of 'costumbrismo' that the Spanish filmmaker names 'surreal naturalism'. Likewise, the tone of dramatic comedy -as the director himself has also qualified it- has shining moments, which the hilarity of the public provokes, and others that are not always done little believable, also in the psychological evolution of the characters, believable in his performance. That breaks the dramaturgy of the story -even with the deceit of a ghost that is not such-, but manages to do dear a narration that can like much more to the women -especially, the radical feminists; since the men remain very beaten (in this case, rapists of their own daughters).

The passion of Almodóvar for the melodrama -as better goat to qualify to this film, for me quite superficial- is appeared in the music of Alberto Iglesias, which takes up the subject of a Spanish operetta that sang his mother in the river ("La Ross del Assyrian") -in that scenario in which Raimunda (Penélope Cruz), without any remorse, buries her husband- and which includes in the first credit titles. However, the movie suffers from a certain coolness, since the public see it a little from outside, although possibly he will not go out from the theater unsatisfied. Pedro Almodóvar has the success guaranteed.