Il figlio della sposa

Great performers in an expertly mounted A feature. This one goes on too long but deserves to edge out the glossy English speaking movies which play to the same audience in the multiplexes.

The film is full of great players given the chance to do their stuff. Darin has the authority of a major leading man and it's a great pleasure to see already familiar veterans like Alterio and Aleandro in strong roles. Her spin on senility is a beautifully judged mix of touching and funny that the film needs to grab the broad public. Verbeke registers as an exceptionally vivid version of the sexy, winning fantasy girl that we keep on seeing in films.

If you want to argue that these characters are a distortion of real life you're in a different mind set to the makers and the fourteen dollars a seat customers they are playing to.

I enjoyed seeing this recognisable world of cell 'phones, old friends, resolved family tensions and gourmet food put across in an unfamiliar setting with superior film know how. It's like a good overseas holiday. The old Sascha Guitry gag of the security system picture or the finding the priest at the final wedding were worth the cheer they got at the performance I saw.

Very sweet mid-life crisis movie from Argentina starring the brilliant

Ricardo Darín from 'Nine Queens'. Darin plays Rafael, a driven

restaurant owner who's stressed lifestyle and continuous intake of

ristrettos and cigarettes earns him a heart attack. Lying in his

hospital bed he resolves to start 'a new cycle', simplifying his life.

This proves harder than he expects. Gorgeous younger girlfriend

Nat wants commitment, ex-wife Sandra heaps scorn on his

neuroses and his dapper father wants financial help in enacting a

touching gesture to his wife of 44 years: a proper wedding

ceremony.

Rafael is assisted in meeting these challenges by the appearance

of an old friend, Juan Carlos. Played with memorable comic

energy by Eduardo Blanco (a kind of Argentine Roberto Benigni),

Juan Carlos' loyalty and friendship - and the story of his own

triumph over tragic life circumstances - helps Rafael understand

the treasure he possesses without appreciating it: family.

It may sound kind of soppy, and at moments 'Son of the Bride'

does teeter into sentimentality, but on the whole this is a

consistently entertaining movie, the best of its kind I've seen in a

long time. The film's script is very nearly brilliant, stuffed full of bon

mots and witty asides, from the Padre describing his new speaker

system as 'omnipresent' to Juan Carlos' Jesus-Christ-as-

Maradonna joke.

But its quality lies in more than just a list of gleaming one-liners

and 'zingy' exchanges. There's acres of depth here too, in passing

observations about the universality of corruption in modern day

Argentina, to wry observations about the hypocrisy of the church.

Campanella covers a lot of bases - much more so than comparable comedies from the US - without ever losing his

lightness of touch. It's this that raises 'Son of the Bride' above the

mass and makes it a movie that I'm actually very keen to see

again.

Impossible not to like, then, and if the ending doesn't leave you

with a tear in your eye, you're a heartless swine.



I actually caught 'Son of the Bride' last night in a double with 'Nine

Queens'

Son of the Bride

When I read the short description of this Argentinean film, "Son with broken marriage deals with his dads desire to renew marriage vows with his wife with Alzheimer's" I hesitated to watch it. I down loaded it to my Tivo because of it's three star rating, but had no great desire to re--live my mothers long decline into that particular abyss.

We had just started to watch "Out of Sight" a Hollywood product that had George Clooney meeting his co-star "cute" in the trunk of a getaway car. A contrived vehicle for brand name stars that delivered the audience and made a buck for the investors. That's the American way. We cut it off after twenty minutes and decided we may as well give this one a try.

Nobody met "cute" in this film. There is a son with a broken marriage and barely tolerable relations with his ex whom he kept in contact with over the shared love of their daughter. The demented mother, was depicted with just enough realism to give a taste of the true sadness of this disease, while not overwhelming the film with despair. Maybe it was extra meaningful to me, since my Mother was like her, the rare person who did not suffer from her illness, but bathed in some blessed contentment.

I will not try to go into detail why this film was so beautiful. When everything works perfectly, the writing, directing and the acting; all you have is the unfolding of the story on the screen. There is nothing to say about the people or their interactions--- they are just being themselves. In real life, we don't have heroes. The strongest people are those who can make the people around them feel good about themselves. If they are gorgeous they don't wear makeup to accentuate it. If they are rich they talk about a cheap meal they had a restaurant. And if they are very smart, they talk sports.

So, by watching this film, you get to spend a couple hours with these people. Nothing will be more enjoyable. And stay through the titles that roll at the end, there is one final joke that completes the experience.

A great feel-good type of film. Campanella lives up to promise and delivers yet again, as he dives head first into the story of a forty-something going through a mid-life crisis. Ricardo Darin (Rafael Belvedere) shows us why he's one of South America's biggest stars as he puts in a performance to rival "Nine Queens" (another great Argentinian film). He's complemented by Natalia Verbeke who plays his girlfriend (and who is in possession of the world's greatest smile) and Héctor Alterio and Norma Aleandro who play his parents. Aleandro in particular contributes some magnificent scenes, playing an aged woman struggling to cope with mental illness. A really good film that will restore your faith in humanity....A bit corny?? oh well.... Funny, original, and well put together. Recommended for everyone!!

This is a very good film from Argentina. It would be a shame if more people fail to see this beautiful tale set in the Buenos Aires of the beginning of the century when times were better and the porteños felt on top of the world.

Director Juan Jose Campanella knows these people. He is really on their side, for they have struggled all their lives to get the family restaurant to be successful. The son, Rafael, has problems making ends meet and his life is a mess. Not only his whole world comes crashing around him, but he cannot cope with the only person that really loves him for what he is, Naty.

His father, Nino, loves Norma, even though her mind is not here any more. He doesn't miss seeing her one day. He finally realizes, too late, that secretly Norma's desire was to have been married in the church, he didn't believe in during his youth. Now he wants to make amends by marrying the wife who cannot appreciate it because of her wandering mind.

The acting is superb. Ricardo Darin gives a fine performance as Rafael. Norma Aleandro proves once more why she's a great actress and Hector Alterio is very effective in a very subtle performance. Natalia Verbeke was a revelation as she stands by her man.

All in all, this was an enjoyable time at the movies.