Más allá del jardín

This beautifully filmed drama, based on the famous Spanish novel of the same name is a worthy adaption of the popular book. Strong performances by a fine ensemble cast bring the characters to life in a very colorful setting. The film features Italian legend Gian Carlo Giannini in one of his few Spanish-speaking roles, as well as the well-known Fernando Guillen Cuervo, the excellent Concha Velazquez (in one of her best roles), and the promising rising star Eduardo Noriega (TESIS, OPEN YOUR EYES) in one of his earlier roles. Check it out.

A wealthy Sevillan woman finds her world crumbling around her, and with it all the social values her supposed high-ranking position had imbued in her. Concha Velasco does a fair job of throwing out her unfaithful husband who indulges in adventures, and forthwith has her own fling, holding her dying mother's hand, weeping over her son's body on the freeway and getting used to the idea of her daughter being pregnant.....all in the space of what seems to be just a few days. Any try at reducing a novel to barely 90 minutes screen time can be a risky matter: in this case the film just does not totally convince - it is not coherent enough.

But what if.....Mario Camus had been the director instead of the scriptwriter, albeit with Antonio Gala's approval, clutching, as always, his gold-ferruled walking stick? What if Valcárcel or even Rafael Azcona had done the script? The result as it stands is a film which falls back on the ever-useful trick of using tremendism, when such ingredient is totally missing in the novel. The ubiquitous fatalism is present, though it tends to be somewhat ephimeral in the film, which was probably a good idea given the condensing imposed in its making.

Anyway, the film is quite provoking and has some excellent scenes. Probably Concha Velasco's best performance since she played Santa Teresa in a Spanish TV series around 1984. I just cannot fathom out what all those poor people in Rwanda made of a whole film-crew working in the middle of their dreadful war....

It deals with the vicissitudes of Palmira (Concha Velasco) , who recently arrived as a volunteer in Africa, so she remembers the events that led her there. Palmira belongs to the Sevillian aristocracy, as well known for her decrepitude and hypocrisy as the rest of her population . Not long ago, Palmira was the dissatisfied wife of a noble Sevillian landowner (Fernando Guillén) who hadn't slept with her in years. And he betrays her with a lover (Goya Toledo). As Palmira enters into an emotional crisis when she reaches maturity and makes a surprising decision . In addition, her adolescent son (Miguel Hermoso) had problems that she did not tell him about, her sister was rebellious and addicted to alcohol, and her daughter (Ingrid Rubio) was secretly seeing a low-class boy (Eduardo Noriega) and she gets pregnant...

This is an intense melodrama that blends loving elements , passion , guilt and fate , as life of a mature women will tear apart in unexpected way when unfortunate events happen until a sad final . It is a passable and interesting movie , but being carried out in coldness , academicism and slowness . I sincerely believe that it is an acceptable film with a realistic plot that thousands of women go through at a certain stage of their lives. Based on the novel by Antonio Gala, it can be thought that the film starts out a little slow-moving , flat and sometimes it can even seem somewhat boring ; but it is the simplicity and the delicate and subtle line of progress of the story what gives meaning to the plot . Regarding the performances, obviously Concha Velasco gives a masterful interpretation of a woman who throughout her life has done anything to make her happiness and at a certain point when she loses everything she begins to rethink the meaning of life through an extreme change , sex and love...until achieving an evolution both internally and externally . A superb Concha Velasco (unfortunately has disappeared from cinema in recent years, although she was still very active in theater and television ; however , nowadays , she's seriously ill), accompanied by the excellent Mary Carrillo and Ingrid Rubio, both awarded with a Goya, and actors of the level of Fernando Guillén, Miguel Hermoso , Manuel Banderas , Goya Toledo , Andrea Occhipinti or Giancarlo Giannini, stars in the story of a woman in her maturity who has to fight different wars: that of family secrets, that of her own heart, and of course the real one in Africa, which gives one of the most superb and impressive endings in Spanish cinema.

Más allá del Jardin was competently directed by Pedro Olea . His first film was Dias de Viejo Color . After that , for six years , Pedro Olea dedicated in advertising and documentary as "Guernica" , "River of Bilbao" and TV series as "Cuentos y Leyendas" and other about Basque themes . With "Un Hombre llamado Flor de Otoño" , Pedro Olea returns to shoot , thanks to subsidy of the Basque government . Subsequently , he made a trilogy about Madrid : "Tormento", "Pim Pam Pum Fuego" and "La Corea" . But his biggest hit were "A Man Called Flor de Otoño" with Jose Sacristan and "Fencing Master" or El Maestro de Esgrima with Asumpta Serna . He also directed "Bandera Negra" about gun smuggling and a military thriller : " Morirás in Chafarinas" . And Olea made two movies dealing with witchery : " La Leyenda del Cura de Bargota" and " Akelarre" and "El Bosque del Lobo" 1970 is considered to be one of the best films in his prestigious career . Rating : 6.5/10.