It Snows in Benidorm

Coixet tríes bravely a new poetic film with some good points (Sylvia Plath in the old fishermen' s Benidorm), but losing rhythm and falling inadvertedly in some image and lyric topics

I liked this setting, it started sincere, narrated, introducing the protagonist and his peculiarities, tried to keep a mystery/suspense about the brother, but it didn't work very well, we know a little about the Bernidorm culture, however nothing very attractive besides, the story becomes dragged and long...

It starts off well, but gradually descends into banality as the viewing time progresses, as elements are introduced that disregard the Chekhov's gun principle. It simply confuses. The standout is Timothy Spall's character, an innocent man who believes his brother is still as dull as ever when it comes to enjoying life, but upon arriving in Benidorm to visit him, he finds that nobody will tell him where he is. It's a compelling plot that maintains good suspense, and the character's dramatic scenes capturing the essence of Benidorm are also commendable, but that device loses its quality in the second half of the film and becomes tiresome. Nonetheless, Benidorm strikes me as an ugly, extremely ugly city, and this movie has only increased my aversion towards it.

However, not all of the film is shot in Benidorm. The part where they showcase the abandoned amusement park is actually the Pola Park, a children's amusement park located in Santa Pola, where I used to go every summer as a child.

What a waste of talented actors through bad direction. Even Timothy Spall cannot save this film as it sinks into suffocating banality. Painfully slow and unrewarding. What could of been an interesting plot sinks into two hours of navel gazing. Possible interesting characters are left to struggle with cheap dialogue and a storyline that stutters to a finish before it's time leaving you totally frustrated with the storytelling. Symbolism pops its head up constantly but rarely makes a point, even when it could have helped the film along. Sometimes the location can be the saving of a bad film but even this was frittered away.

I feel a bit mean posting a poor review of this film. It is clear that the director is trying hard to create a visual language that is charming and menacing at the same time. The story, predicated on a man whose joyless life is upended when he tries to visit his brother in Spain only to find him missing and tied up in shady goings-on. Scenes are bathed in light and garish colour strongly reminiscent of Almodovar and which reflect the main character's escape from the drudgery of his routine life.

At times, the camera lingers on the bacchanalia of Benidorm's nightlife and presents an alienating, decadent and surreal world. All of this seems to be intended to to make us uncomfortable. Regrettably, the scenes are so stylised that they feel pretentious rather than disturbing. The film is trying way too hard to create a disconcerting atmosphere with it's blend of innocence and depravity and its focus on the bizarre details of Benidorm life.

The dialogue is stagey. Attempts at elliptical and thought-provoking conversation are grating and make the film feel longer than it's (already too-long) 2 hours. The police officer spouting Sylvia Plath, for example, is utter nonsense.

Going back to my original comment, the reason I'm uncomfortable leaving this film a poor is that I think the director has real creativity and visual flare. I just think she needs to rein it in and concentrate more on the plot, dialogue and editing, which is what makes this such a mess. It's also a real shame to see Spall, one of this country's finest, involved in this half-baked project.