O Mar

I had decided to watch EL MAR as a tribute to its director, Agustí Villaronga, who died on the 22nd/January/2023. I was expecting a kind of romantic gay movie, but what I saw was a terrible story of young men tortured by facts that happened when they were kids, devoured by their inner demons and very hurt by their past experiences. I don't want to spoil what's a very sophistecate story, but I warn you that it is not an easy movie to watch.

Too much blood and male nudity. Most of the dialogs are not natural coming from young minds. The acting is very good and the casting perfect, the actors are very handsome, even the locations are very well chosen, but it's not recommended for the weak at heart.

Film is designed to affect the audience and this film left me speechless. Gorgeously photographed and well acted with dialog that approaches poetry the film involves lust, hate, murder, rape, theft and deception. It weaves an intense web that left me unable to take my eyes off the screen until the closing credits. The story is sweeping. It takes the audience from the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War to the human wreckage left behind. Roger Casamajor and Bruno Bertanzoni are two young actors who command the screen. Supporting players are excellently cast and lend a real sense of authenticity. Sets, lighting, scenery and cinematography are wonderful. I absolutely love the photography.

There is not much to add that won't echo what has been written here before me. This film is a brooding, creeping powerhouse of guilt and loss, brilliantly directed with intimate character-driven screenwriting that dares you to resist getting sucked into its vortex of spiritual agony. Villaronga is a genius and a true one-of-a-kind. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem likely that a US distributor will be taking the gamble on this one any time soon, so those of is in North America are at least temporarily at a loss. A British DVD is currently available with English subtitles. See this film any way you can.

I went to see that movie without knowing absolutely anything and I was surprised to realise that i was seeing an unusual movie. Good interpretations, script and great direction. Maybe a little bit of less explicit blood could be made a delicious film. A detail; this film is made originally in Catalan ( a language talked in some parts of Spain ), and filmed in Mallorca (where Michael Douglas has a house). Well, the Catalan talked in this island is so different than the Catalan in Barcelona that in the cinema that i went, the dialogue was subtitled (also in Catalan) to make it understandable!!!

I went to see this movie in Spain with a friend of mine. He said that it was about the Spanish Civil War, and I thought, "cool, I'll learn something." OH MY GOSH what a FREAKY movie!!! Starting with kids watching a fascist firing squad blowing away communists to one kid beating another's head against a rock until the kid died, this film was gory crap that made one really wonder what in the heck happened to this country (Spain, not the USA). Unless you feel like feeling dirty and getting really disgusted with what happened almost a century ago I would strongly avoid seeing this movie.