Volver a empezar

I write this principally in response to the critical comments you print under this title from, "Chuck V", who appears to have missed the point of this film entirely...I have seen "Volver a Empezar"--in parts---both on the Sundance Channel and TVE (the Spanish Television Network). Since then I have been hunting for it high and low here and in Canada so that I could see it from beginning to end, without interruption... It is a brilliant and affecting film, probably best appreciated by mature audiences with some grounding and sensitivity to literature and history and a cinematic background that antedates Cineplexes and four-wall stereophonic sound...It is a brilliant and pointed film, winning the Foreigh Film Oscar for that year...Yes, I love Pachelbel's Canon; and I could hear "begin the Beguine" endlessly--whether it's the Artie Shaw version or Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell dancing the hell out of it in "Broadway Melody of 1940...One may care not a whit about the tragedy of the Spanish Civil War, loss of one's love and country and long exile, or, lastly, the illusion of triumphant return and recovery in late middle age, but there has to be admiration for sensitive direction and montage, and graceful and impacting performances by mature actors.

I stumbled upon this film, and was tempted not to watch it when the first minutes were so quiet. However, I was slowly drawn into the life of the characters and the reasons why Antonio had returned to his home town. There was a sensitive balance between what was being communicated in words, and what was being said through the cinematography. This is a film that some will not enjoy. It is a gentle film, where matters of the heart are more important than the acts that made Antonio the remarkable person he is. It is a film full of understatement, with so much being said in so many small ways. The exception is the role of Agustin Gonzalez whose has to be over the top in an old world way and who plays his part to perfection. Have we not all met people like him - obsequious, yet trying so hard to be the perfect concierge? Elena, played by Encarna Paso enters the film out of nowhere for the viewer, but we learn she has been with Antonio for many years, out of sight but not out of mind. Again, playing an understated role to perfection. This is a film for anyone who is in a relationship, and who has a heart for the future.

This perceptible drama is based on a story and script by Angel Llorente and the same José Luis Garcí . It was the first Spanish film to win an Oscar as Best Foreign Language Film . It deals with Antonio Albajara (Antonio Ferrandis) , he is a great writer and professor in the Berkeley University that from San Francisco goes back to Gijón , Principado de Asturias , north to Spain . Long time ago , during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) Antonio exiled to Mexico . Nowadays , he travels to Spain looking for everything that he left behind in his youth when he turned a notorious poet and famous writer in Mexico and USA , winning the Nobel prize with time . In Gijón he resides at a simple hotel run by the sympathetic and helpful Gervasio (Agustin González) who is assisted by a telephonist (Marta Fernández Muro) and a bellboy . Later on , the well-known Antonio meets again with his past in Roxiu (José Bódalo) , an old friend from their activities as footballers in the team Sporting De Gijón and , and his old flame , Elena (Encarna Paso) , whose love story is rekindled . The picture is dedicated to those people who exiled and lived in the thirties .

This is a thought-provoking drama filmed with great sensitivity and feeling . It's an intelligent and touching story , although is sometimes slow-moving and tiring , but is finely developed with sense of style and sensibility . The issue is simple and clearly exposed , as a Nobel prize winner returns to his natal city looking for his past and through his memory , remembering old times ; starting an unforgettable journey by everyone , thanks to his friends , José Bódalo who gives a top-notch performance, and his old flame , Encarna Paso . In this sensitive picture are treated ethics and morals themes developed with great sense of fairness and ductility . Being Spain's official submission to the 1983's Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category and it Won Oscar and another 3 wins & 1 nomination . The main starring Antonio Ferrandis gives an awesome acting as a successful as well as exiled poet and teacher who played in the Sporting of Gijón's soccer team years ago and returns to his origin location . And very good Encarna Paso as spinster Elena , his great-love of past times . Besides , it packs an exceptional and colorful cinematography by Manuel Rojas , as it is well shown on brilliant interiors and the marvelous city of Gijón and gorgeous outdoors of the countryside and villages , being shot on location in Covadonga , Cudillero , Pola De Lena , Roces , Lago Enol , Cangas De Onis ,(Principality of Asturias) and Berkeley University , San Francisco (Usa) . As it contains a spectacular production design by Gil Parrondo who formerly achieved two Oscars (Patton, Nicholas and Alexandra).

The motion picture was compellingly written , financed (by his production company called Nickel Odeon S.A.) and directed by Jose Luis Garci , though it was strongly criticized by melodrama trending and a very maudlin soundtrack , including the repetitive ¨canon by Pachelbel¨ and ¨Begin the Beguine¨ by Cole Porter . José Luis Garci is without a doubt one of the most influential film personalities in the history of film in Spain and perhaps the best known writer/filmmaker in the country . Garci won one Academy Award for ¨Volver a Empezar¨ or "Starting Over". Although Garci was not the first Spanish director to win that award . Luis Buñuel had won the prize in the same category "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" , but this film was really a French entry . After his Oscar win in 1983 for Best Foreign Language Film with Volver a Empezar (1982) , he received three further nominations in that category with Sesión Continua (1984), Asignatura Aprobada (1987) and El Abuelo or The Grandfather (1998 ), making him the most-nominated Spanish director in that category . He has left a distinguished talent in his successful movies throughout the years , as writing as shooting , such as : La Cabina (1972) , Las Verdes Praderas (1979), Sesión Continua , Volver a Empezar (1982), Canción De Cuna (1994), La Herida Luminosa (1997), El Abuelo (1998), Tiovivo c. 1950 (2004) , Ninette (2005) , Luz Del Domingo , among others . And the two great retellings : Crack 1 and Crack 2 in which Garci translates the Noir Film to the Spanish idiosyncrasy . Present-day Garci lives a quiet and retired life . Rating : 7.7/10 . Better than average and well worth seeing . That's why ¨Volver a Empezar¨ is essential and indispensable watching .

...and Pachelbel's Canon!!! Yes, if you enjoy these timeless melodies, be sure and not see "Volver a empezar." I assure you, you won't like them anymore. These tunes played over and over and over again until I was thoroughly sick of them. I wonder if that wasn't what was killing Albajara.

To give it some credit, the film did feature attractive landscape photography, and the acting was reasonably accomplished. But the story was utterly generic soap opera and the direction was pedestrian, when it wasn't aiming for sickly sentimentality. (No pun intended)

If you absolutely must watch a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winner / soap opera, stick with "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears."

Besides, the story told is very sensitive and real. It reflects the situation that a man faces when he comes back to his homeland after living abroad many years. All the characters, the photography of this beautiful city, the Real Sporting, and the story, make this movie a real pleasure to watch. I am not surprised that it was awarded the Oscar to the Best Foreign Film in 1982 from the National Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.