Una sonrisa a la vida

Movies are rarely about just one thing. Each person in a cinema is having a different experience and it is a subjective call for anyone to declare what that movie is really about. This is particularly so with the Spanish film Truman (2015). Described as a comedy drama, some will experience it as a humorous tale of deep male friendship; for others, it is about a man's love for his dog; but many will feel it as an emotional study about choosing how and when to die when all hope is lost. It is all of the above which makes this film an unusually intense multi-layered story and it is told with great warmth and honesty.

The linear plot spans a four-day unexpected visit by Tomas (Javier Camera) who has flown from Canada to Madrid to see his long-time friend Julian (Ricardo Darin). Both know it is the last time they will see each other and the time is spent helping Julian settle his affairs, sort out arrangements for the care of his dog Truman, and make a flying visit to his son in Amsterdam. However, what happens in this film is less important than how it happens. Many scenes are touching vignettes about small things that are overlooked when living at full pace. He bumps into a friend who does not know how to talk to a terminally ill man and another who does; there are wordless hugs between a father and son; and the meetings about Truman's future seem sadder than taking leave from human friends. Throughout all this, the story remains focused on the friendship between two men as they ride the emotional roller-coaster of knowing that time is short. They share humour and tears as only two old friends can, and Julian's portrayal of brave acceptance holds the story together.

Dramas about loss and grief too easily slip from melancholy to melodrama but there is little of it in Truman. Camera and Darin are superb in their roles, each articulating an emotional language that is expressed through facial expression and voice tone. They reveal their inner selves using minimal dialogue and the free-flowing etched lines on their faces. The story easily gets under your skin with its open, tactile and gentle masculinity, aided by the way that Truman serves as a bitter-sweet metaphor for grief. Julian's remark that "each person dies as best he can" will be confronting for many but this is one of several recent films that demand an honest conversation about dying.

It is not that hard to describe, I mean the entire story in a couple of lines, but scene by scene it embarks on the different level. A very ordinary tale that takes place in less than one week time, at a same time it catches your attention in a gentle manner. A perfect movie with the balanced contents. I admit, this is not what I expected, but still delivered the same quality differently. It takes us to the various locations to capitalise the concept and gives an idea how the real people in the real world express during their distressed time. I think I kind of liked its rich screenplay and the overall production quality.

The movie was very slow, definitely need patience to watch it. It opened in a snowy Canadian residential area and soon begins to follow a middle ages man called Tomas saying goodbye to his family to board a plane for Madrid to meet his old pal, Julian. This unexpected visit gives an opportunity for Julian, a single father to open his heart to talk about the future plan, especially for his loving dog, Truman. The rest of the movie follows their lead by revealing some of the unknown to about each other.

Yes, the title name was a dog character. It took some times to figure it out why and how important was this name for the movie. Almost the entire watch, only in the end scene, it all made sense. Besides, that is the part I fell for it, I think it was the best way to conclude. I love this kind of theme, this is where my softer side unfolds and feel the depth of the character or the tale that intended to strike emotionally. But the thing is, it was not a tearjerker drama as I wanted or it should have been.

"People don't know what to say to me. They smell death and they get scared."

Another unique narration that dealt with having friendship in the front row for its simple ride. It might be a plot that evolved around two friends' four days wandering everywhere, but covered family issues as well, especially the father-son relationship for a brief time, but strongly. It took all the time in the beginning, but the second half was very interesting after it makes you comfort with the characters and enough story development to move on from there.

It was a less fun, but a more meaningful movie than I thought. All the comedies were dark, it is unfortunate not to have even a small smile. The main source for it was the argument caused by the differences between the friends over what they decided to do, but in the end held back to normalcy as the character were matured and had a good understanding.

So the comedy is only the tag that attached to the movie, but it was a very absorbing topic on its progress till the final minute. Yet, I'm very upset with a sex scene that definitely out of the synchronisation with the rest of the story. When everything was going so smooth it appeared from nowhere like a twist in the tale, I felt that was totally inappropriate. And also that 100 seconds changed the fate of the movie from a PG-13 to R product, though there was no strong nudity.

It was effortless, but exceptional performances, especially by the leading two including the Argentinian superstar Ricardo Darin. And I don't forget the dog in the title role, but sadly his screenspace was very short. Obviously this movie is not designed to impact on all the viewers, so it is going to fail to satisfy a few, especially for its slow presentation without a cheerable background score. That means I suggest you to choose it carefully, by learning what the movie offers against what you actually want from it. But overall, it is surely worth to give a try.

7/10

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!