El milagro de P. Tinto

Many convergent histories to a lost place in the middle of nowhere: A man escaped from a psychiatric, two E.T. lost in the Earth, an E.T. hunter working in the construction, a train, and P. Tinto, a man who ever knew what his life was going to be, frustrated by his fallen attempts to make his own family.

Just Fesser's point of view, his gallery of freaks, and the great presence of Luis Ciges filling the screen.

Funny flick plenty of offbeat characters , haunting mood-pieces , slapdash ,fun scenes , Kafkian situations and sense of style . Entertaining picture, fundamental for lovers of absurd humor and it has a high budget for its spectacular digital special effects . It deals with Wafer factory-owner P. Tinto (Luis Ciges) and his spouse blind Olivia (Silvia Casanova) , both of whom really wish a son of their own more than anything else in the world . Years of trying , however , have left them with nothing but a couple of strange extraterrestrial midgets (Javier Aller , Emilio Gavira) living in the spare bedroom . A series of disconcerting events result in an escaped adult mental patient who fled from an asylum ruled by a nasty director (Pepe Viyuela) ; he is called Joselito (Pablo Pinedo) and suddenly arriving at their door . P. Tinto and Olivia accept this without question and welcome him in as their wanted child .

This entertaining film packs amusement , slapstick , thrills , comic situations , tongue-in-cheek , surrealist comedy including conventional pitfalls and many other things . Sitting in a strange middle ground between the completely absurd and the stylishly cool . This is a fast crazy movie with lot of fun situations , antics , bemusement and with a bunch of very hilarious roles . Sensitive film full of good feeling , offbeat characters , haunting mood-pieces , diverting scenes and sense of style but not totally satisfactory , including some flaws . Wonderful protagonist couple , Luis Ciges/Silvia Casanova , an enjoyable marriage who become involved into problems when they decide to try adoption, then take place a series of misroutings and rare encounters . It turns out to be pleasantly fun that offers no intellectual stimulus whatsoever ; an exercise in pure amusement in which entertainment and fun are guaranteed . The amusing characters are quite odd , grotesque and weird and the film races on at incredible speed . It is a light , wistful comedy , easy to watch , and easier to love . It is as beautifully filmed as it is written and acted . The actors faithfully represent their characters and not to leave out of place the viewer at any time . Exaggerated accidents in a nonsensical world created by the writers/director : Javier/Guillermo Fesser brothers , embarrassing situations , miracles , shaking , falls, and other highlight sequences , all of them through some breathtaking special effects . In addition , a spotless pictorial cinematography by Javier Aguirresarobe and a willingness , almost perfect of the elements of each shot , every sequence , every space ; being filmed in La Revilla, Burgos, Castilla y León . Aguirresarobe subsequently would make a prestigious career in Hollywood such as ¨Fright night , ¨The twilight saga: eclipse¨, ¨The road¨ , ¨The others¨ and many others . And an evocative musical score by Suso Saiz , adding songs of the 50s and 60s , including Eurovision Festival. Suso had composed nice soundtracks for films as ¨Juego De Luna¨, ¨Africa¨ and ¨Detectiva y Muerte¨. The picture achieved some prizes and nominations , as it won Goya Best Special Effects : Félix Bergés , Nominated Goya Best New Director ; in Locarno International Film Festival 1999 Won Special Mention Javier Fesser for the movie's style, humor and originality ; in Peñíscola Comedy Film Festival Won Best Cinematography : Javier Aguirresarobe and Won Best Director and Sant Jordi Awards 1999 Won Sant Jordi Best First Work : Javier Fesser .

The film was well produced by Jose Luis Garci and Enrique Lopez Lavigne , a great producer who has financed national and international hits as ¨28 weeks later¨, ¨The intruder¨, ¨Lucia y el Sexo¨ and ¨Lo Impossible¨. The motion picture was compellingly directed by Javier Fesser , as he shows us a surrealist and absurd humor applied to the characters , however he overdoes the same premise , P. Tinto's ingenuousness . Writer/Actor/Director Javier Fesser was born in 1964 in Madrid . Javier is a writer and actor, and along his brother Guillermo Fesser forms the Radio comical group ¨Gomaespuma¨ , both of them have written and directed some amusing films , such as : The great adventure of Mortadelo y Filemón (2003) , Cándida (2006) and the best movie : The miracle of P. Tinto (1998) .

It's been a long time since I last saw a Spanish comedy this genial! It has a little of everything and everything is in its place. Like a giant puzzle where all the pieces fit and not even one is missing. No loose ends, no nonsense. The two parallel stories join when we least expect it and after all we have seen and laugh we are sure there's more. We just don't know if it will keep the level or will go higher. P. Tinto (Luis Ciges) and his wife had tried everything in the book to have a child, to no avail. They need children to take care of them and the family business. One of the problems is that ''dad'' never told ''son'' about the flowers and the bees and when ''son'' heard it through the grapevines, he got everything wrong. The couple move to a lonely place where the train passes every 25 years. Pray to God for a miracle and one day they get it. Two cute little martians arrive at their door and they take them as their own. Now they're happy but could be happier, so they write to the African Embassy in order to adopt a little orphan from over there. I need to stop here. Everything is hilarious and you have to see it to enjoy it!

This film is wonderful. It opens with a superbly parodied Kafka parody in black and white set in an insane asylum, complete with Polish dialogue, subtitles, and bureaucratic "Fraktur-ized" Spanish signs and directives all about. It ends with a black and white newsreel from years earlier, and in between occurs some of the wildest comedy I've ever seen, including Martians, a time machine, an African child delivered in answer to an adoption prayer, a remodel contractor who goes bezerk, an express train that roars by every twenty-five years... I could go on and on, since that's just what the film does, with one wild idea after the next. Certain ideas which seemed in questionable taste or too corny at first encounter I grew to appreciate as time progressed, since the wild ideas of this film are cleverly developed, not simply dropped in search of new inspiration.

The central plot of the film is a man's longing for a suitable heir to the Pinto family enterprise, a "oblea" - communion wafer factory, and his struggle to conserve a centuries-long contract with the Vatican - that is, if he can't make more money by going into pizza or quick-order chicken. But this film has several parallel plots (as more of today's novels should) which I won't describe. I don't wish to spoil anyone's fun by over-divulging.

My DVD version came with a choice of English and French subtitles. Of course for the Polish scenes, Spanish ones are automatic. It is not necessary to know Spanish to love this film, but try to appreciate the tone and style of the Martians' speech. This film is a delight! Wonderful! It's rated, I believe, suitable for all audiences - at least all Spanish audiences. There is sexual humor, however, and some death (black humor) - indeed, there's about every sort of non-crude humor ever devised. Still, I would hesitate to show it to young children.

No doubt, this is one of the most memorable spanish films ever made. The oddball sense of humour is entwined with what actually is a touching story which will not be easily forgotten; (and if you're the type to appreciate this kind of wacko-hilariousness, the four-seconds time reversal scene is one the greatest momentos that could come to mind!)