frauna

Better than most American movies about haunted people, lost children and grieving parents, this Spanish thriller really made it. Belen Rueda is a great actress, and nobody could express pain and desperation the way she does it. Geraldine Chaplin and the little and creepy old lady who visits Rueda at the beginning of the story are great performers, too. Not to mention the Mexican paranormal researcher, and old and dear face for Latin American public (Sr. Barriga, in El Chavo del 8).

Don't read the following sentences if you doesn't watch it yet, but despite the good script, a big mistake: could anybody really believes that a corpse could be abandoned in a basement's floor for nine months and nobody noticed the stench...?

After all comments I already read here, I am kind of confused. My opinion? Good script, good casting, beautiful people, carefully made movie, but for some reason, not quite convincing. Binoche and Irons became lovers and they are living a completely forbidden passion, a passion so violent and complete that they risk everything around them (specially Irons). But their performances are so rigid, so empty of life and (precisely) passion...!! I've seen people greeting friends at a birthday party with more enthusiasm and sparks in their eyes that Binoche and Irons meeting to have sex in a secret apartment. They both look like they were in drugs, and the boyfriend/son who does not know anything... well, my cat is a better actor when he wants food. One thing is that some people is not running around crying aloud when they are in love, and another thing is acting a love scene like you are thinking of you are out of milk and have to go to the supermarket.

I guess this movie is specially interesting for people who love music, good acting and intelligent stories. Two women, and old piano teacher and a young prodigy girl (the girl happens to be in prison and she is in a very, very bad mood, as you could expect) got involved in a relationship of teaching and learning. But this is not the typical movie about how music could save souls and make everybody happy and cheerful at the end, against all odds: complicated people and complicated problems remains complicated, of course, and music is a window to our tormented souls, not a sleeping pill or a wonderful happiness-tonic. Highly recommended. Specially the young actress who plays Jenny, a wild beauty with incredible eyes and full of passion.