La bonne réputation

An understated slow burn. As tense as a horror film. Psychological. Lots of pregnant silences. You see stories about the rich destroying themselves and others. You see stories about the others getting destroyed. But what if you're in that scene, neither the predator nor the prey, effected by the results, and have no control over what's happening. This film made me feel uncomfortable and helpless. Marvelous. The costumes and sets are gorgeous too. Ilsa Salas is stunning.

This Spanish drama about a wealthy socialite and her husband, whose marriage goes through a crisis, seemingly triggered by the 1982 economic crisis, has much eye candy and nice cinematography, as well as costumes and makeup, not to mention production design. There are also decent performances from the main cast, mainly Ilsa Salas, Flavio Medina and Paulina Gaitan. Arc shot is used in excess sometimes, flamenco soundtrack (mostly clapping) is used in harmony with the emotional intensity of certain scenes, in the absence of other music score. The film becomes a bit slow at times, but this is not necessarily bad, because it allows the audience to have some rest between the more dramatic moments, even though it may bore the ones who want fast-paced entertainment. There is a message about the pretentious rich, who are filled with arrogance and often look down on others with a lower income, or people who join the "rich people's club", supposedly only because of money and not because they love truly someone. But in general it's an average movie, which talks about a problem, sadly without offering any solutions, it's good, though. The closing scene is really redemptive, showing a comeuppance that's certainly insufficient but serves as a way to administer justice (and it offers comic relief, too!), even if it doesn't seem very powerful. It's recommended to the ones who would like to watch a movie to pass the time and think a little about something.

The script or story is the worst. Does not make any sense. The actors are good, but the movie was a total waste of my time. Horrible!!!. I thought the movie "There Will Be Blood" was bad. But, this one was the worst!. I apologize for being this honest. I could not help it.

Acting is great, production is good, sound is wonderful and the story reminds me of the good old times.

This film captures the reality of a rich life controlled by the lust of the flesh. The director did an excellent job weaving the elements of money, judgmental mindsets, arrogance, pride, and the characteristics of vanity. The all too perfect lives stitched up with fake and deceptive threads of life. I cannot forget to mentioned the addictive vices and the wondering if you are a good person or parent surrounded by a circle of opportunist friends. I thought the coming out of the public restroom scene summed it up well. It seems that money sets you up to selfishly desires what you want no matter who you hurt. This movie confirms Victor Hugo's quote, "Adversity creates men; Prosperity creates monsters." Yet, everyone deserves a true friend despite of who you are. I hope people will watch this flick for what it really signifies.... the sad reality of a prosperous life.