En route pour le palais

"Pídele cuentas al rey" tells the story of an Asturian miner who decides to walk from Asturias to Madrid for being received by the king of Spain, and then ask him for the right of all the workers to have a worthy job.

The director, José Antonio Quirós, has a lot of experience making documentaries, in this movie there are some real scenes which show the hard life of the Asturian miners, who have to work in dangerous conditions. During the long walk, we can see other unlucky characters like wanderers and illegal immigrants.

Antonio Resines plays the lead role with his habitual naturalness; the movie sometimes is a bit too much long, but it's entertaining.

Well, maybe not quite. I saw this movie mostly on account of Antonio Resines being one of my favorite actors. Unfortunately, this movie is a dud. Basically, it deals with a miner who has seen enough deadly accidents and lame political excuses, so he decides to walk 500 kilometers with his wife and (I guess) 6 year old to Madrid, to see the king. Since the constitution of Spain (the setting of this movie) states all Spaniards are entitled to a decent job, he will ask the king himself for such a job. Yes, it is that hokey.

The character himself is portrayed as a rather selfish and unlikeable clod who only looks to get some publicity. Along the way he encounters a Portuguese family in a similar state, and tells them to go away in quite unfriendly terms. He even resorts to start throwing stones, which led to a retaliation, during which his own child and two of the other family were in constant danger. In another scene, the only time during the movie the wife is interested in sex with him is after he gets stinking drunk. He later gets an undocumented man arrested after picking a fight in a strip bar, and so on. On another occasion he "treats" his family to a meal he has no intention of paying for. This is after refusing money from a well-wishing friend before heading on the journey. Quite a guy to look up to?

To address one of the many lapses of the movie, we have a six (or so) year old boy who is having the time of his life while being rushed several hundred kilometers. The last time I saw such a dopey and accommodating kid was in "It's a Beautiful Life", which I didn't like neither, but I digress.

If, like me, you enjoy Antonio Resines in action, you can watch almost any other movie of his. This one stinks big time.

Fun , amusing and touching flick about a loser called Fidel (Antonio Resines) attempting to a pull off a peculiar social protest . This is an interesting Dramedy : comedy with brief touches of drama more in less than 90 minutes of length and yet with an air of naturalness and credibility ; though essentially predominates comedy in which a miner taking a particular protest on their own hands . The setting is city of Mieres (Asturias) and surroundings , home of a massive industry and jobs aplenty . Today with the industry and mining in decline and with a lot of deadly accidents the worthy works have been closed down , there is widespread unemployment , strikes and despair . It tells the story of an Asturian miner Fidel who tiring for the social and economical crisis -and being supported by the likable father-in-law (Manuel Alexandre) and opposed of his mother (Emma Penella)- decides to proceed his special social protest . As Fidel along with his family , wife (Adriana Ozores) , and six-year-old child , decide to walk 500 kilometers for being received by the king of Spain , Juan Carlos I , and then ask him for the right of all the workers to have a valuable job . Along the way he meets a thief who steals his belongings , some evaded immigrants , another Portuguese family in a similar state whose father (Manuel Manquiña) attempts to imitate Fidel , throwing stones each other , and several other things . As Fidel crosses Spain from Asturias to Madrid , suffering a lot of adventures , misfortunes and distresses , among others .

This entertaining film knows very well inter-cross these two genres , comedy with brief touches of drama , although the most comfortable note in the enjoyable comedy . Including a sour denounce about injustices , regarding unemployment , exploitation , and corruption . It is presented as a comedy , but it does have some very moving moments, as it shows the despair , desolation of unemployment and mining lockout . And it subtly displays the economic conditions of Aznar/Zapatero's Spain, where entire industries were shut down , taking jobs and local economies along with them . The picture relies heavily on the relationship between two main characters , Antonio Resines-Adriana Ozores , though some of the sub-plots needed more fleshing out . Yet the laughs are sprinkled throughout nicely , and even though each man has their own personal fears to overcome, they find strength in each other, which makes the experience all the more fruitful .

It's fun, but no less likable , though some infinite sadness follows the film at times , including a touching finale . The film moves in fits and starts most of which would be desirable , with more traps the viewer resists any kind, and some moments of enjoyment and others quite a few disconcerting . This is a pleasant flick that contains humor , entertainment and amusement as well as thought-provoking issues . The film gives a nice character studio of a desperate miner well played by Antonio Resines . As the picture pays tribute to this magnificent actor , Antonio Resines , a famous player and producer, known for his acting in films as : Línea Del Cielo , Todo Por Pasta , Amanece Que No Es Poco , La Buena Estrella , Carreteras Secundarias , Tiempo De Felicidad , Celda 211 (2009) and TV as Ladrones van a Oficina , Los Serrano (2003), and A las Once En Casa (1998). And special mention to appearance by veteran Manuel Alexandre as a very good performed old man . Furthermore , other notorious secondaries give phenomenal acting , such as : Emma Penella , Pep Oliva , Eduardo Antuña , Antonio Gamero , Antonio Dechent , Manuel Manquiña . And , as usual , cameo by Santiago Segura .

Colorful as well as evocative cinematography by Julio Madurga. Attractive soundtrack by Juan Carlos Cuello , with plenty of Asturian music , communist songs , and musical sounds in country style . Being well produced by two great producers : Pedro Costa and Enrique Cerezo . The motion picture was professionally written and directed by José Antonio Quirós , an usual documentary filmmaker , this one results to be his first flick . He has directed a few films as Cenizas del Cielo (2008) and Todo El Tiempo del Mundo (2014). The picture will appeal to Spanish cinema fans .

This movie describes as anyone the soul of Asturias. The mine, the family, the friends, the land..... Quirós does an amazing job, Resines looks alike a perfect miner, as he has been asturian since ever, Adriana Ozores is gorgeous as usually and the music, in special the blowpipe sound by Berto Varillas, asturian blowpipe master, is incredible. In any case, Quirós is a director really less ranked. Maybe if he has godfathers like Amenabar he could has more films well known. The care he takes with the characters, his technical work, the photography... makes this director a really future genius. Really a excellent job of all the crew, with great results in Spain.