Gaby

This is one stunning drama that never misses a beat.

Gaby, suffering from cerebral palsy, overcomes enormous challenges with the help of a Mexican maid and supportive parents.

But this summary barely does justice to this perfectly directed and acted drama.

The score, by Maurice Jarre, is simply stunning, and the performances (all of them) are spot-on.

I adore this movie and count it as one of my Top Ten of All Time.

Everybody knows MY LEFT FOOT. After all, it's considered a classic of the 1980s and it made Daniel Day Lewis win the first of his three Academy Awards. But very few know that a year before that a movie about another person with a similar life was being made. And despite having never seen MY LEFT FOOT but being an obscure movie lover myself, I gave GABY A TRUE STORY a try and I loved it to the point that I wanted to give it a score higher than 10... it's that great!

The movie follows the life of Gaby Brimmer (Rachel Chagall) that is the daughter of Jewish refugees living in Mexico that has cerebral palsy. In other words, her entire body is paralized except her mind and her left foot, and with the help of her tutor succedds in attending school, college and become a successful writer even tho dealing with some personal tragedies.

The acting by Chagall was great (and it's a shame that she hasn't made that many movies after this one), and also by Robert Loggia, Liv Ullman and Tony Goldwyn. The plot, while at times depressing, was still inspiring because it gives the message that even tho you have some serious impairments, you can make it in life. In fact, Brimmer's dad makes the example that Beethoven was deaf yet he made all that great classical music.

Not to be missed even if you already saw MY LEFT FOOT (unlike me) because it has some touching moments and an inspiring feel to it that it will make you root for Gaby despite her handicap. And since it's on Youtube, give it a try if you stumble upon it during a search.

1st watched 10/9/1996 - (Dir-Luis Mandoki): Good movie about handicapped individual trying to make the best of her situation by doing the best at what she can do rather than getting down about what she can't.

I'll defer to the first commentator on how well the film deals with CP, but one thing that impressed me was that -- with one or two minor details that I question (college students usually don't live alone, and certainly not in large apartments) -- this is the ONLY Hollywood film I've ever seen that captures Mexico City, and Mexico, as a normal place with its own quirks.

Really, though, the film is more about maid's nobility and heroism (after all, she had to go to school as an adult)which is slightly overlooked with an impressive Argentinian like Norma Leandro playing a Mexican "campasina".

As is often pointed out: the same theme, as in "my Left Foot", a life of handicapped person, Gabi. But I totally agree with jtur 88, this movie is better than "My Left Foot". The actors are superb. I would like to say, Everyone performs with conviction: Conviciton of not just performances, but of the way they see life. In "Gabi" there is nothing sentimental, nothing sensational, "No cheap pity for Gabi". This is the basic line of the movie. Because of this I was moved deeply and I would like to have this film at home, so that my daughter can watch it too. I wish, there would be more movies like "Gabi". A proof of conscience in the movie world. (Sorry for my restricted English ability)