Noche de reyes

I was surprised by the low ratings this film has received among IMDb voters (4.9 as of today). The film has an excellent cast and its entertaining throughout. Sure, some of the things that occur during the film could never happen in real life, but the exaggeration of the situations makes it funny. It is a zany, madcap comedy of the kind Hollywood used to make. You can't analyze this film to see if it is logical or the situations are real. Just sit back, relax your mind, and enjoy the ride. If you want a light comedy in which you can forget about everything for one hour and forty minutes and watch good acting and funny situations, then the Spanish film "Noche de Reyes" is for you. Watch it, and if you agree with me, lets raise its IMDb rating to at least a 6.

A choral film with a crazy tone and parallel scenarios, a bizarre story with several family conflicts as the axis in a temporary period supposedly of peace and domestic happiness. An agile comedy with somewhat forced humor, but that does not stand out for its inventiveness, although it has its nice moments with a comfortable sentimentality that appears in its final part. Ernesto Cuspineda (Joaquín Climent) is a businessman about to sign an important contract with a Japanese company owned by Mr. Okamura (Togo Igawa) on 'Twelfth Night'. Things get complicated when his wife (Kiti Manver) discovers her infidelity with Celia (Melanie Olivares) and decides to end her marriage. From now on, they will suffer one of the worst nightmares of their lives when a series of unfortunate incidents occur. Thus, an oversight turns that night into a crazy nightmare, in which the world turns upside down: Three Wise Men (Javivi: Melchor, Eduardo Recabarren: Gaspar, Alexis Valdés: Baltasar) stealing toys, Santa Claus (Jesús Castejón, Secun de la Rosa) handing out beatings, hysterical Japanese, human nativity scenes looking for a fight, and much more.

A Christmas comedy by Miguel Bardem whose action takes place during the night that serves as its title, the film is sustained with interpretative sufficiency in an unequal cast and full of stereotypes in the business and romantic issues. It is about a family that, to solve some problems, embarks on a thrilling race against time that will lead them to face a series of strange characters, who will despite everything try to maintain their dignity and the pertinent Christmas spirit in this frenetic King's Night. 'Noche de Reyes' gets its best gags, in the successive encounters between troubled characters and their chained misfortunes in the style of Martin Scorsese's "After hours". It shows a jerky pace, with touches of classic screwball comedy, based on physical humor, misunderstandings, parody and caricature, although the proliferation of sinister characters and incredible situations greatly tests the viewer's credulity. Director Miguel Bardem releases this his second solo feature film (he was previously part of the trio of directors of ¨Más que amor, frenesí¨ and made his solo debut with ¨La mujer más fea del mundo¨), here making a fierce criticism against the Christmas parties and all its traditional, commercial and family paraphernalia. It's a mediocre film, but the show is partially saved by a handful of splendid actors, such as: Elsa Pataky, Roberto Álamo, Fernando Tejero, Héctor Alterio, Claudia Gravy, Fele Martínez, Javivi, Jesúes Castejón, Secun de la Rosa, among others.

The film was average but professionally directed by Miguel Bardem who builds a crazy comedy, full of action and outlandish roles, with an excellent cast of actors characteristic of Spanish cinema and although set during Christmas time, the film was shot in mid-August in Madrid. Miguel Bardem belongs to a renowned family of actors, since he is the son of director Juan Antonio Bardem, his aunt is Pilar Bardem, cousin of Carlos Bardem, Mónica Bardem and Javier Bardem. He has directed some entertaining films as comedy, such as ¨Twelfth Night (Noche de Reyes)¨, ¨Mas Que amor, Frenesi¨, ¨Mortadelo y Filemón, mission: save the planet¨, suspense like ¨The ugliest girl in the world (La mujer más fea del mundo)¨ and ¨Incautos¨ in which It achieved its best results and is considered to be its most successful film.