María (y los demás) (2016) Reviews

• Great opportunity missed

  benjamingrullo2017-05-07

  The movie almost looks like a good french movie, some scenes reminded me to Rohmer or Ozon, especially the beach scene to "Sous le sable". But – spoilers ahead- the movie doesn't have an end, and it's a real pity. The main character is so well constructed, so real and lovable that everyone can identify with... María has inner conflicts for everybody. They had it all. Everything in the movie sounds real, emotionally subtle, funny, sad, and some times even dark, but it just lacks character development and a little plot to cause it. It's almost like a first act movie. A great realistic inciting incident, a father re-marrying, but it's treated as a plot point, and it's not. What a pity, what a wonderful material. A great opportunity missed and an artist, Nely Reguera, i will follow from now on.

• A generational tale

  charosanchez2018-07-05

  The characters are well developed, they tell the story of changes in Spain's roles and culture. The caretaker, Maria, so entangled in this role, that she neglects to live her own life and dreams. An unexpected event makes her rush into her own chaos.

• Unoriginal comedy

  hof-42018-02-20

  María has been taking care of her father Antonio since her mother died. This has been especially trying during Antonio's recent cancer treatment. María (as well as her brothers) is blindsided by Antonio's announcement of marriage to his nurse Cachita. Not overly original, but there are some possibilities. Regrettably, these are not exploited, and the script is predictable and loaded with clichés. Bárbara Lennie plays María. She carries her weight for a while but then becomes tiresome (she is far too long on screen). Cachita (played by the Argentine actress Marina Skell) is Argentinian and she is depicted as clueless, pushy, overbearing and uneducated according to a not infrequent cliché in Spanish movies. The dialog is trite, except for some sharp exchanges in a beach scene. There is too much bad music, including a scene where Dani, María love interest sings and plays the guitar, which qualifies him as one of the worst musicians/poets on earth. That may be intentional, however. On the positive side, good cinematography that captures some of the beautiful, melancholic landscapes of Galicia, a province in the northwest of Spain.