Diecisiete

One of the best international movies I have watched, simple and feel good movie. We need more like this!

Héctor is a troubled kid. Isolated, introverted and yet fiercely intuitive, he finds himself sentenced to a juvenile detention centre after a string of criminal offences. Twenty-odd attempted escapes later and Héctor is introduced to a rescue dog in need of training. Across an unspecified amount of time, Héctor forms a strong bond with this dog and names him Sheep. Their friendship is abruptly cut short once Héctor learns Sheep has been adopted, and that his job of training him has reached completion. Devested by the loss, he flees from the detention centre and reunites with his brother Ismael (Sánchez) and ailing grandmother Cuca (Cordón) on a spontaneous road trip to locate his estranged companion. What follows is an extraordinarily beautiful film about brotherhood and reconnecting with your past while facing up to life's impending challenges. Seventeen packs two fantastic central performances by relative unknowns Biel Montoro and Nacho Sánchez. Both actors share wonderful chemistry together and their dysfunctional yet discreetly compassionate relationship is at the very heart of the film, driving it forward with bittersweet tenderness and occasional moments of casual humour. Arévalo and Sánchez craft a wonderful screenplay that feels genuinely human and relatable in its approach to sibling dynamics and family ties while not succumbing to overly sentimental territory. Seventeen is a remarkable piece of work that deserves much more recognition. It stands as one of 2019's most heart-warming films and is currently available on Netflix.

I was surprised by this movie. The acting is convincing and the history is very authentic. If you want to see a movie about filings in family, this movie is for you.

Good Spanish cinema. I recommend it.

Full disclosure: I'm a sucker for movies about dogs. But I'm also, I like to think, a level-headed dog-lover, so I tend to be critical of movies that turn them into soppy love-sponges. The premise of this movie -- a troubled teen (possibly autistic?) is brought out of his shell of morose neediness by caring for an equally anti-social dog -- could, in the wrong hands, have yielded mainly schmaltz. Instead it has produced a wry, unsentimental, beautifully acted bromance -- well, I don't like that term, because it suggests Owen Wilson and Adam Sandler getting wasted together, but it's more apposite than usual, since it is mainly about two emotionally reticent brothers negotiating a fraught relationship -- the dog, in fact, is secondary, a kind of McGuffen to the actual substance of the movie. Biel Montero is irresistibly impossible as the ever-so-tough but emotionally fragile younger brother, and Nacho Sanchez counters perfectly as the exasperated, long-suffering but devoted elder brother. I particularly enjoyed his attempts to teach his brother what irony is -- a tricky concept, especially for a seventeen-year old with issues. There is also a hilarious performance from a prize cow. A gem of a movie. I watched it a second time to make sure that it was as good as I'd thought the first time. It was.

A superb film. About coming of age, brotherhood, about family , about the angry of a special age. And about something more important. The cinematography , the acting are the fair traits of a touching story about precise definition of life . The basic virtue - great job of Biel Montoro. So, just superb.