Siete minutos (2009) Reviews

• The dating game

  jotix1002010-05-01

  Dating agencies are known to sponsor meets in which clients are thrown together in order to see what is available, hoping some will connect romantically. Alas, this dating bureau in Madrid gives each person seven minutes in which to talk to prospective partners to see if they click. The only problem is this group attending the session, as the story begins, could not be more diverse. The single people examined in this film are all desperate to find someone, some more than others. There is Nerea, a shy professor afraid of being sent to teach in one of the country's jails, who ends up with Zulu, a man that is serving time, but on parole at the moment. Sonia, a viola player, is involved with the conductor of the orchestra, but realizes he is not her man. Ana, a friend of Sonia, goes for moral support. She is an unhappily married string player, who catches her husband in the act of having sex with the attractive domestic helper she employs. Luismi is a single father of two trying to get the ideal lover in a place that is shallow, at best. His brother, Vincent, a man who for all appearances is gay, living with the fat Juanma, suddenly does not know if he wants a man, or a woman. In other words, this group of singles, is a mess! This is basically the premise for "Siete Minutes", a film directed by Daniel Fejerman, who has been active in the Spanish cinema. The story boasts the Spanish Minister of Culture, Angela Gonzalez Sinde, as one of the writers of the screenplay. The director, and Emilio Martinez Lazaro, the director of "El otro lado de la cama", which was a mild success in Spain and in other countries, are credited as having to do withe the script. There are some moments when the comedy seems to take off, but the fun is only limited.