Tapas

First of all: if you think sex with prostitutes and recreational use of illegal drugs are always bad actions, this movie is not for you. I'm not saying this movie is drenched in all that stuff. It actually is not. But it does treat these subjects as commonplace, at least for some people. And it does not judge them, even if it makes fun at them at times. I like that.

About the story and the looks of it: This is a movie that deals with some serious realities, mostly emotional ones, but with strong humorous overtones. I understand the story happens in a neighborhood in Barcelona, Spain, but it looks like somewhere the tourists do not know. This feels deep and warm. Very nice, in short.

This is a film that shows the different love relations between common people in a neighbourhood around a Tapas-bar. The film keeps you tied to your seat, just wanting to see what's happening next, and takes you closer to people's feelings, and recapitulation of concepts in front of extreme situations that alter their reality. From the old lady who sells drugs in the Tapas-bar, afraid of loosing her husband. The owner of the bar, whose wife runs away tired of him, and he prefers to hide his new situation, the woman in the local shop, that lives on her own and keeps a relationship throughout internet but falls for a physical relation with a younger men, all spiced with a pinch of Spanish humour, reality and sadness. The cast is pretty good, the new talent Rubén Ochandiano, or consecrated actors such as Angel De Andrés López, Elvira Minguez or the Argentinian Alberto De Mendoza. All in all, it's a good taste of Spanish cinema, besides the world known imagination of Almodovar.

This pleasant collage by first-time directors José Corbacho and Juan Cruz is made up of three loosely interwoven stories of various people in a Barcelona neighbourhood, with a tapas bar as the central location, where most characters' lives intertwine. The title not only refers to those small appetizers Spain is famous for, but also to the Spanish verb "tapar" which means to cover up, or to hide.

I found the story of Lolo, the bar owner, the most engaging. His wife abandoned him, he is full of prejudice against women and foreigners, cannot show his emotions and has developed a deeply rooted incapability of engaging in any meaningful relationships. He needs a new chef and ends up with Mao, a Chinese immigrant who's kungfu-ing all the time but is the most efficient cook he ever had and suddenly people are flocking to his bar because his dishes are actually really good now. Some of the insights springing from this story are a bit contrived. Lolo who's learning that not all Chinese are communists or illiterate paupers seems like 40 years too late to me, but somehow the actors and the low-key filming make even obnoxious Lolo seem sympathetic and near the end of the film, I really rooted for this man.

Rubén Ochandiano gives an exceptional performance as Ruben, a teen supermarket worker who engages in a sexual relationship with middle-aged shop owner Raquel (Elvira Menquez). A very talented young actor, a natural screen presence. I hope it ensues in more prominent roles in the foreseeable future.

It's all low-key and unpretentious, with sober direction and cinematography, but surprisingly effective. Many of its characters could easily have befallen victim to stereotypes but the cast does an amazing job to give this a real breath of fresh air. Hard to resist.

Camera Obscura --- 8/10

José COrbacho is a Spanish humorist known for his gross humour sense and scatological jokes. People was frightened about the film he could do in his opera prima. Unexpectedly, he astonished everybody with this film. No comedy, no bunch of stupid jokes mixed together. We can find a correct mixture of little stories that happen in a workers town (the one the directors are from, l'Hospitalet de Llobregat, near Barcelona). Poor people with their fears and their hopes, their dreams and their desperation in order to survive in this life, always being able to face the world in an optimistic way. We can find the story of the old pair, that has to sell abuse drugs in order to pay the drags he needs for his cancer. The young pair whom only want to enjoy their lives, the barman that finds a new way of living when he contracts an Asian cooker. All these are little everyday stories, correctly filmed and with good acting. It has all the problems of the opera primas (lack of cash to spend, some scenes not totally thought) but it is a great surprise in Spanish cinema. If all his films are as good as this, I'll follow Corbacho's career as a director. A dramatic comedy of everyday stories, it is just a little film that wants to tell the existence of the "little unknown" people.

For an American, regularly exposed to American movies, "Tapas" is a unique and unusual experience. There are no special effects. There is no computer scenery. It is an Altman-like ensemble piece with closely related multiple story lines performed by the most talented of actors. The main characters include a middle-age divorcée looking for love, a bistro owner with a low opinion of the human race, two young supermarket stockers with party on their minds, an old lady who peddles drugs to finance her and her husband's declining years, and a Chinese chef. This is one of the most realistic and entertaining European movies that I've seen in some time. Highly recommended.