Truman - Un vero amico è per sempre

Ricardo Darin plays Julian an Argentinean émigré who now lives in Madrid and is something of a 'has been' actor. He is divorced and his kids are all grown up and forging their own paths in life. But he has a dog – Truman whom he dotes on. Then one day his old best friend turns up. This is Javier Camera playing Tomas. He has come over from his new life in Canada to see his old friend, for possibly, one last time.

The story shows how despite a gap of many years they are able to pick up from where they left off and can be as honest with each other as only true friends can be. The dog though is central to everything. They also catch up on past lives that had lain half remembered until now.

Now as a comedy this sort of fails as the humour is more incidental rather than up front. Where it does score is on the relationship side and a very gentle unfolding drama where we sort of know the ending from nigh on the beginning. That said there is enough here to give the plot a degree of vibrancy that engages the viewer. In Spanish with good sub titles this is a reflective film that is designed to be such and will reward those looking for a film with both feet planted in realism.

This movie is perfect in every way as far as my movie watching is concerned anyways. It may be a little slow but it is so embracing. Key word embracing. I give it a solid 9 seriously.

"Truman" (2015 release from Spain; 109 min.) brings the story of Tomas and Julian. As the movie opens, we see Tomas, a Spanish emigrant now in Canada, flying over to Madrid. He is there for an unannounced visit to his life-long friend Julian, an Argentinean theater actor living in Spain. It's not long before we learn that Julian has lung cancer and is refusing any further chemo treatment. Is Tomas there to try and change Julian's mind? And what becomes of Truman, Julian's old dog who has seen better days as well? To tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from Spanish writer-director Cesc Gay. Here he brings an intense and emotional (but never sentimental) look at what a man does with his day-to-day life when his remaining time is limited, and how it affects his relationship with a guy who once was (still is?) his best friend but now lives in faraway Canada. It is important to emphasize that this easily could've been an emotional exploitation movie, yet Cesc Gay manages to infuse the perfect dose of reality. Check out the scene where Julian, accompanied by Tomas, goes to the funeral home to make funeral arrangements. "And who is the deceased?, asks the funeral director. "Me", Julian wryly responds. "Oh..." Just because the movie purposefully shies away from obvious emotional exploitation, we find ourselves sucked in even deeper. I was simply blown away by it all. Cesc Gay movie regulars Ricardo Darin (as Julian) and Javier Camera (as Tomas) each provide towering acting performances. But ultimately I feel that the credit must go primarily to Cesc Gay for this wonderful movie, easily one of the best I have seen in a long time (and that's saying something as I see a LOT of movies).

"Truman" opened to immediate acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival 2 years ago, and went on to garner multiple awards. Imagine my surprise when the movie opened without any pre-release advertising or fanfare at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati this weekend, I went to see it right away. The Friday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended okay but not great, not surprising to me (given the lack of any marketing for this film). Regardless, if you are interested in a slice of life that will resonate closer to you that you may think, or simply want to enjoy a top-notch foreign indie movie the likes of which are all too rare, you don't want to miss this. "Truman" is HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

A pretty good movie with great actors , entertainment , intense drama , narrative excitement and fun , too . Cesc Gay delivers an enjoyable comedy in which the main and support cast are frankly outstanding . As the main attraction resides in its excellent cast in which stand out the magnificent stellar pair . Attractive and enjoyable story with emotive and touching moments and very well played . Self-contained Tomás (Javier Cámara) is a sensitive man with goodheart who returns Spain from Canada to find his intimate friend Julián . As he suddenly receives an unexpected visit from his friend Tomás, who lives in Canada . Julian has an illness and preoccupied with the question to the point of obsession . Later on , the two men leave their Spanish lives , and set out in search for his son (Oriol Paulo) who lives in Ámsterdam . After that , they return Spain and accompanied by Julián's faithful dog, Truman, undertake the sad existence and dark future , prompted by Julián's difficult health .

A nostalgic and attractive film about friendship , family relationship , love , death and promises . Enjoyable dramedy with stirring moments , agreeable friendship, father-son relationship and a little bit humor. The picture relies heavily on friendship among two old friends , but this one doesn't make boring , but entertaing . The flick also deals with interesting and engaging issues such as family relationship , deadly illness , assumtion death , and many other things . Filmmaker offers a fresh take on a familiar scenario, a beloved friendship and a father-son relationship , it results to be other of the innumerable stories to deal with family and friends . From start to finish this exciting film contains drama , emotion , a marvelous and deep friendship between two friends who will share emotional and surprising moments . Cesc Gay carries out a solid comedy , achieving a big hit at the Spanish box office . Duo protagonist , the anarchic , obstinate Ricardo Darin , and the sensible , honest Javier Cámara , are top-notch , they steal the show , both of whom turn an efficient acting . Nice film , though it has a few gaps , but anyway, its is compensated with the great performances from Ricardo Darin , chewing scenary as the ill person who suffers a complicated situation, refusing any further chemo treatment . Support cast , and cameos , are frankly extraordinary , such as : Dolores Fonzi , Alex Brendemühl , Pedro Casablanc , José Luis Gómez , Javier Gutiérrez , Oriol Pla, Nathalie Poza , Elvira Mínguez , Eduard Fernández , Susi Sánchez , Francesc Orella , Silvia Abascal and many others . And the dog that interpreted Truman died a few months after shooting due to natural causes.

Colorful and evocative cinematography with wonderful exteriors from known cities shot in Barcelona , Madrid and Ámsterdam . Atmospheric, adequate score by Nico Cota and Toti Soler .The motion picture was well directed by Cesc Gay . He was born in 1967 in Barcelona, where he often shoots his fims . He is a writer and director, known for the successful Krámpack (2000), Una pistola en cada mano (2012) , En la ciudad (2003) , V.O.S. , Ficción (2006) and this Truman. It had several prizes such as Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain 2016 Winner CEC Award Best Film , Best Director Cesc Gay , Best Actor Ricardo Darín , Best Supporting Actor Cesc Gay , Best Original Screenplay Cesc Gay ,Tomàs Aragay . Feroz Awards, ES 2016 Winner Feroz Award Best Actor in a Leading Role Ricardo Darín , Best Actress in a Supporting Role Dolores Fonzi ,Best Screenplay Cesc Gay Tomàs Aragay .Goya Awards 2016 Winner Goya Best Lead Actor Ricardo Darín , Best Supporting Actor Javier Cámara ,Best Original Screenplay Cesc Gay , Tomàs Aragay , Best Director Cesc Gay , Best Film : Marta Esteban ,Diego Dubcovsky ,Trumanfilm ,BD Cine ,Impossible Films .

I was in Barcelona, one of my favourite cities, in December and was looking at the Verdi cinema to find a film to watch. I was attracted by Truman because it's a Spanish film, but has English subtitles. I'm struggling to learn Spanish, so this seemed ideal for me.

What a great choice! The Spanish dialogue is reasonably simple and slow so I understood most of it. The story is simple and of interest to all of us; I also love animals.

A really good film - very moving, funny and sad. The words are simple, but the film is excellently well acted and full of underlying emotion. I found myself laughing and crying at different moments.