Movie #167
3 stars
Alfredo López (Cámara) is a struggling encyclapedia salesman who owes three months of back rent. It's 1973 and the world is changing. His boss has an offer for Alredo that he just can't refuse, shooting "scientific" sex videos with his wife for the Danish World Encyclopedia of Reproduction. Alfredo's obbsession with filmmaker Ingmar Bergman threatens the relationship with his wife, who becomes obsessed with having a baby.
(I've started making my own plot summaries...what do you think?)
Cast: Javier Cámara, Candela Peña, Juan Diego, Malena Alterio, Fernando Tejero, Mads Mikkelsen, Ramon Barea, Thomas Bo Larsen, Nuria Gonzalez, Marivi Bilbao
Director: Pablo Berger
The storyline was kind of interesting and there were enough things going on to keep my attention. It was only 86 minutes though. It is good that the filmmaker realized that a shorter length would be more beneficial. I feel like a lot of times filmmakers want a 2 hour film...to showcase their talent...but if the storyline isn't there then it just isn't there.
Like: Berger did a good job of actually making the audience believe that the couple actually had chemistry. You have to admit, he's the lucky one. If this hadn't been accomplished then it would feel more like a cheap movie...and not a film observing people's lives. It might have also made the audience feel grossed out while they were filming their "scientific" movies.
Like/Dislike: This is the kind of film that you can't tell if it is a good or bad thing that it is a foreign language film. Are you missing out on something by having to read the subtitles? Or are the subtitles covering up the bad? I don't really have an opinion on the matter but I thought I would just throw it out there.
Dislike: Mads Mikkelson. Anybody who reads my reviews knows that I love Mads. But I sure am glad this was not the first film I watched of his. It wasn't that his acting was bad but it was more of just his character. He was weird, slime-bally, and had no depth. But in the end this might have been on purpose. I didn't dislike the character but I didn't like him either. It would take a lot more effort to like Mads if this was my first movie of his.
Overall Recommendation: It's a sub-par movie that isn't really worth watching.
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