Familia

On the day of his birthday, Santiago (Juan Luiz Galiardo) hires a team of actors and actresses to play as if they were members of his family. Along the day, the personality and sentiments of each member of his fake family is disclosed to the viewer, showing their true feelings. This weird and surrealistic story is a great metaphor with the real society. In a simple way, it can be understood as a powerful and lonely man, who somehow misses his family and hires a group of actors and actresses to perform, on the day of his birthday, as if they were his lost family, as a kind of weird celebration. This type of interpretation leads the viewer to a great review of the hypocrisy of the institution `family'. But if we extend this idea further and further, the lonely and rich man might be a government, a powerful dictator, an employer, a manager, trying to build his own perfect world, represented by his family. However, even though providing all the instructions, orders, good conditions and salaries for the participants, his world may not work the way he wants. Human beings are not machines: they may use masks, hiding their real feelings, following a social behavior ruled by the society or the system. But in the end, persons have free will and even flaws in their characters and behaviors and the system may not work perfectly as planned. In the end, Santiago applauds the great performance of the players and concludes that it is better off be part of an imperfect `family' (could be the world, the society etc.) than to live alone (or be dead…). My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): `Segredos em Família' (`Secrets in Family')

Santiago, stars Juan Luis Galiardo, is a lonely man in this world. He decides to hire a complete crew of actors on his birthday in order to make them act as his family. Under this unbeliavable and original idea, director Fernando León makes us go inside the feelings of every character, and all the things that happen on this particular birthday... What a great opera prima from León...!!

A watched this film for the first time a couple of years ago, in a film festival and a liked very much. A year ago I've the opportunity to buy it very chip in the supermarket. I enjoyed it again. At this time Elena Anaya has developed her career a lot, I've seen her in Rewind, Bendito Infierno, Blue room, Lucía and the sex and one or two more. Particularly in this film I liked her very natural performance, as well to the mayor part of the cast. She is a very beautiful and talented woman.

But what I really loved of the film was the actor who acts that acting. In art and literature, an of course in cinema, this issue has a long tradition. In painting is almost a genre, the studio of the painter. And of course there are lots of examples of the writer who is actually writing the story we are capable to see, thanks to his very actual writing. So, I believe the way the film approaches to the subject is very clever, and soft, I mean it doesn't need lot of "intellectual" dialogs like Allen's films. This one has many funny moments and significant ones. And the similarities that you can find with real life, and the acting world are really well presented.

Almost I enjoyed the performance of the "brother", I expect to see more of his acting.

I'd the opportunity to know a pair of films of this same director, and he is a really good one in the treating of people matters.

This astonishing story of a lonely man who organizes a family birthday with professional actors is a successful comedy. This film is funny and fast. I wonder why it is less known than "4 Weddings and 1 funeral". Maybe because it is not starring Hughes Grant or Andy McDowell.