La educación de las hadas

The world as magical definition. Exercises of gestures and failures like roots of a special age. And the respiration of deep truth. Tree, grave, photos and "hadas". A movie - game. Old and strange, familiar and childish.Story about miracles as ingredients of knowledge. And the air of a spring mornings. A film like a madlene. Memories and tastes. Touches and smiles. Birds and the shadows of parents. And the child as key of natural forms of words. For me, this film was a delicate gift. And a form of time's sleep. A isle, a small refuge, a piano's song in mythical season of rain, a walk in forest, contemplation of a river. Or maybe, only piece of imagination. In fact, a form of cruel remember.

"La Educacion De las Hadas" is the new movie from Spanish director Jose Luis Cuerda, his follow-up to "La Lengua De las Mariposas", a local hit back in 1999. Cuerda is known for his subtle sentimentalism and his funny approach to all themes (Including the end of the world, see "Total"). The movie is based in a novel from french writer Didier van Cawuelaert. It tells the story of Nicolas,(Ricardo Darin) who falls in love with two people, Ingrid (Irene Jacob) and her seven years old son Raul. All of them have hidden secrets and wounds that will appear in the process of knowing each other. This could have been a melodramatic movie if not were for the light touches which are the trademark of the director, and for the magical underlines that surrounds the narration. The cast is fine, with Darin as good as ever, and Irene Jacob with her best role since "Rouge", but the real surprise is the newcomer Bebe, in his film debut after selling thousands of discs in Spain. She gives charm and interest to the Algerian immigrant Sezar, who appears like a faerie for the rest of the characters.

José Luis Cuerda's 'La Educación de las Hadas' starts off a little awkward and messy. The encounter between Nico, Ingrid and her son is portrayed very strangely. At this point the story rushes into Nico and Ingrid getting married and moving into his house. And from there he jumps to the sequence where Ingrid asks for a separation. While the initial sequences are heavily rushed, the scenes thereafter move at a very slow pace.

The backstory of the characters are poorly developed and one may feel the requirement of an explanation for the character's actions but once Sezar and Nico go out on a date, the story quickly picks up. Cuerda also provides a surprising explanation of the characters' motivation and leads to a beautiful ending. The highlight sequences that are in the second half of the movie allow me to forgive the flaws of the first half.

'La Educación de las Hadas' is beautifully shot. The natural locations and Nico's house are breathtaking to look at. The background score is soothing to the viewer.

Ricardo Darin is superb as Nicolás. He delivers a very natural performance. Irène Jacob is brilliant as the conflicted Ingrid. Bebe, who is known for her singing talents, is terrific as Sezar. Víctor Valdivia holds his own as little Raúl.

Even though 'La Educación de las Hadas' does not start off on a great note, I suggest one have a little patience because the latter portion really makes it worth the watch. The film could have used a little more 'fairy magic' imagination but even otherwise it's far from a bad watch.

The presence of Darin in a film draws me to it. Until now. Too bad he had to be part of one that eschews subtlety, that is edited in such an amateurish way, and that depends excessively on large and small contrivances for plot development. The acting is uneven but I felt it was more the fault of the director.

Darin plays a husband to a wife with a young kid from a previous marriage. When the current marriage begins to unravel, secrets come to the surface gradually.

There is a secondary thread in the form of an Algerian woman, Sezar, whose life eventually intersects that of the character played by Darin. When that happens, the film gains focus.

Unless you are a die-hard fan of Darin, better avoid this one.

I was lucky enough to catch this film in premiere at the Latin American film festival in Brussels the other night, and I must say I was impressed with the power of such a 'sweet' movie. Other movies in the festival were e.g. Babel, with Brad Pitt, so although at first I was quite sceptical about this festival and La Educación de las hadas, this turns out to be unnecessary

I'm not going into detail so I won't post any spoilers, but if you are in doubt of seeing this one, I'd say go for it, you'll like it don't expect a lot of action though, but funny conversations combined with a powerful love story.