Le miracle de P. Tinto

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!

Good film, I loved it.

El Milagro de P.Tinto is a mixture of the slapstick and the sick humour, a sort of "slapsick", if you will. It takes pains not to base the film in reality (which is a good thing: all too often comedy is sacrificed to the god of reality - why? Life appears to be more tragedy than comedy). The visual effects are nicely realised, and the humour leaps out of every frame. If you´re an English-speaker who is learning Spanish, you could do a lot worse than see this film, as the humour is very visual, so it is easy to understand.

But most of the Spanish people I´ve been talking to absolutely hated it. They all say the same thing: that the film is stupid, a silly, pointless film with little to recommend it. The question is: is your local cinema a place for such a film?

The thing is, I came, I saw it, I laughed (a lot), and I left. It was a good way to pass a couple of hours. After all, isn´t that what cinema´s about, entertainment? And P.Tinto certainly entertained. It is a witty, observational view of the world (if a little warped). The cinematography is excellent, and it takes pains to replicate the atmosphere created by other classic films (the opening sequence, set in the psychiatric hospital is a good example, as is the parody of E.T.).

So, come on, Spain - stop worrying about the intellectual impact of the movie and see El Milagro de P.Tinto for what it really is: a bloody good laugh.

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!)

It was the highlight of Göteborg Film Festival the year I saw it (around 2002 I believe) and I have been looking for it in stores ever since, but not yet found it (though I had mistaken one of the words in the original title so that may explain why).

It is in the same spirit as such weird comedy masterpieces as Jeunet & Caros Delicatessen and City of Lost Children at in no way less than those two.

I'm sad that it doesn't seem to have reached a larger audience. It really deserves to be a classic.

If you can see this film, don't you miss it!

It´s one of the most funny films I've ever seen... It´s an unreal story perfectly drawed by good actors. Javier Fesser paint a magic world, mixturing present, past and future. Every scene is a magic moment. Simply laugh!!!