A Janela

My local library was showing this film for movie night, but I decided to rent it for myself and view it at home. Glad I did. La Ventana is a mellow film, very relaxing to watch, but melancholy just the same. The facial expressions of the actors made them mesmerizing to watch. The landscape shots were beautiful. At one point I stopped the movie to see where it was filmed (Argentina). Even my husband and son, who prefer mindless shooting movies, were walking by and just sat on the sofa with me and watched. It's not a fast moving or an action film, it's poignant in that it depicts an infirm elderly man at the end of his life, what's going through his mind, and those around him. Very captivating film that draws you in. It starts off slow, but progresses nicely.

"La ventana," Carlos Sorin's beautiful film from Argentina deserves a wider audience than is evidenced by the responses at IMDb. This is a very sensitive and beautiful look at the coming of death. Nothing is overly stated, overly done. It reminds me of "Mother and Son" by Sokurov in it's beauty, quiet, and lack of the need for narrative. The cinematography is beautiful. There are many characters who greatly add to the authenticity of the story yet the film does not get distracted by trying to do more than is necessary to tell a universal truth about the human condition. This film has an audience but it is probably very limited. I highly recommend "La ventana."

Argentina's favorite theme is presented here: Déclassé Fairytale. With emphasis on that golden prewar era.

In this rendition an 80 year old man who himself would have been a child in that golden era is dying he is looking forward to the visit of his son an international pianist (of course). The 80 year old father is an author with signed first editions of Borges (of course).

The whole story is a day in his life.

Still it is an accurate look at rural life in Argentina as well as death and dying even if it does involve an estancia and other icons of these pseudo intellectual déclassé fairy tales.

It is short pretty good if somewhat depressing.

RECOMMEND

LA VENTANA (THE WINDOW) is a gentle masterpiece of cinema written and directed by Carlos Sorin. It is about living and dying and how, hopefully, we all can approach that last day on earth. Filmed in Argentina's Patagonia by cinematographer Julian Apezteguia with an emphasis on sunshine and landscape this little film humbly presents the final day of living of 80-year-old writer Antonio (Antonio Larreta) who has been confined to bed in his home after a heart attack (his warmly caring doctor advises him to be hospitalized, but Antonio seems to appreciate the futility of that move). He is attended by two women - María del Carmen (María del Carmen Jiménez) and Emilse (Emilse Roldán) - who prepare his meals and his medications and cut his hair and keep his old home clean. Antonio is frisky and more than anything wants to walk in his vegetable garden he watches through his bedside window. He calls upon a piano tuner to tune his ancient piano in preparation for the visit of his son Pablo (Jorge Díez), a famous concert pianist, who is due to arrive with his girlfriend Claudia (Carla Peterson) after a very long absence. Antonio finally decides to take a walk in his garden and his land, longing to once again feel a part of nature. He stumbles, is unable to get up, and is found by neighbors who bring him home. After seeing his son, and after recalling a repeated dream of the lovely woman who served as his nanny, Antonio simply goes to sleep, happy and serene.

There is no story to this beautiful film, Instead it is just a day in the life of a man who has lived a good life and accepts his dying with great dignity and happiness. Each of the actors in this elegy is perfect for the simple roles. But it is the performance by Antonio Larreta under Carlos Sorin's direction that makes this film soar, quietly and with profound respect for the art of living and of dying. It is a little masterpiece.

Grady Harp

I recently saw this at the 2009 Palm springs International Film Festival. This is a beautiful film from Argentinian writer/director Carlos Sorin and beautifully shot on location in the Patagonian countryside by cinematographer Julian Apezteguia. Antonio (Antonio Larreta) is an old man living on his old country estate with his two nurses (Maria del Carmen Jimenez) (Emilse Roldan) and has recently suffered a heart attack. He is bedridden and on an ICV and his country doctor wants him admitted to a hospital. Antonio's son who is a world renowned pianist is coming from Spain to see his ailing father for possibly the last time. Antonio has had a dream about the baby sitter he had as a child and 80 years later he doesn't know why he has had the dream or what it may mean. A piano tuner has been summoned by Antonio to tune the old family piano that hasn't been played in decades in case his son wants to play it. He has also summoned up from the wine cellar a 40 year old bottle of champaign that he and his late wife have been saving for a special occasion. This film is sparse on dialog and very little happens in the film but it is such a poignant small film and almost like a theatrical play that you will find it enchanting. I would give this an 8.5 out of 10 and recommend it.