Freunde fürs Leben

I was in Barcelona, one of my favourite cities, in December and was looking at the Verdi cinema to find a film to watch. I was attracted by Truman because it's a Spanish film, but has English subtitles. I'm struggling to learn Spanish, so this seemed ideal for me.

What a great choice! The Spanish dialogue is reasonably simple and slow so I understood most of it. The story is simple and of interest to all of us; I also love animals.

A really good film - very moving, funny and sad. The words are simple, but the film is excellently well acted and full of underlying emotion. I found myself laughing and crying at different moments.

The movie has a very low rating in Germany, which is weird not only because of a mature scene in the movie, but because of what this movie is about. It's not something children want to see, but more pointed and aimed to "please" an older audience. And it's a very good one with amazing acting and a story that will take you on an emotional ride that will not leave you easily.

Truman is the name of the dog and also an English title for the international audience. And even here Germany goes a different way and calls this "Friends for life" (translated). Which I guess is a description of the movie, though you could confuse this and think it's a comedy when it's called something like that ... it's drama don't get that confused! Still relish the lighter moments and also the great script this has ...

Tomás, a long time friend with Julián visits his mate in Madrid. Julián is ill with cancer for one year and he has decided to stop his treatment and assume death. He has told his decision to his family and friends, but not all of them are ready to accept it. Together, they visit different places in order to arrange the day after Julián's departure. Time to stop, I won' tell you more about the story.

I'm not going to discover the two main actors in the crew. Javier Cámara and Ricardo Darín are normally brilliant and Truman is not different. They By the way, Truman is Julian's dog and his acting is great too. They are omnipresent through the movie and its for the good. Totally opposed in their characters - Javier is sensible and self-contained, whereas Julian is the artists stereotype: impulsive and anarchic - the mix works great.

Although this is a sensitive topic, the movie does not seek an easy tear from the spectator. Actually, it tackles some aspects of this approach to death very humorously.

For people familiar with Madrid, the movie is mostly shot in Las Salesas neighborhood, a very centric area in the city.

Ricardo Darin plays Julian an Argentinean émigré who now lives in Madrid and is something of a 'has been' actor. He is divorced and his kids are all grown up and forging their own paths in life. But he has a dog – Truman whom he dotes on. Then one day his old best friend turns up. This is Javier Camera playing Tomas. He has come over from his new life in Canada to see his old friend, for possibly, one last time.

The story shows how despite a gap of many years they are able to pick up from where they left off and can be as honest with each other as only true friends can be. The dog though is central to everything. They also catch up on past lives that had lain half remembered until now.

Now as a comedy this sort of fails as the humour is more incidental rather than up front. Where it does score is on the relationship side and a very gentle unfolding drama where we sort of know the ending from nigh on the beginning. That said there is enough here to give the plot a degree of vibrancy that engages the viewer. In Spanish with good sub titles this is a reflective film that is designed to be such and will reward those looking for a film with both feet planted in realism.

"Truman" (2015 release from Spain; 109 min.) brings the story of Tomas and Julian. As the movie opens, we see Tomas, a Spanish emigrant now in Canada, flying over to Madrid. He is there for an unannounced visit to his life-long friend Julian, an Argentinean theater actor living in Spain. It's not long before we learn that Julian has lung cancer and is refusing any further chemo treatment. Is Tomas there to try and change Julian's mind? And what becomes of Truman, Julian's old dog who has seen better days as well? To tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from Spanish writer-director Cesc Gay. Here he brings an intense and emotional (but never sentimental) look at what a man does with his day-to-day life when his remaining time is limited, and how it affects his relationship with a guy who once was (still is?) his best friend but now lives in faraway Canada. It is important to emphasize that this easily could've been an emotional exploitation movie, yet Cesc Gay manages to infuse the perfect dose of reality. Check out the scene where Julian, accompanied by Tomas, goes to the funeral home to make funeral arrangements. "And who is the deceased?, asks the funeral director. "Me", Julian wryly responds. "Oh..." Just because the movie purposefully shies away from obvious emotional exploitation, we find ourselves sucked in even deeper. I was simply blown away by it all. Cesc Gay movie regulars Ricardo Darin (as Julian) and Javier Camera (as Tomas) each provide towering acting performances. But ultimately I feel that the credit must go primarily to Cesc Gay for this wonderful movie, easily one of the best I have seen in a long time (and that's saying something as I see a LOT of movies).

"Truman" opened to immediate acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival 2 years ago, and went on to garner multiple awards. Imagine my surprise when the movie opened without any pre-release advertising or fanfare at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati this weekend, I went to see it right away. The Friday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended okay but not great, not surprising to me (given the lack of any marketing for this film). Regardless, if you are interested in a slice of life that will resonate closer to you that you may think, or simply want to enjoy a top-notch foreign indie movie the likes of which are all too rare, you don't want to miss this. "Truman" is HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!