There are only two actors in this film, bringing a tense and meaningful play to the screen. The B&W film adds a sense of drama to an already dramatic tale of a man who, while attending to the affairs of his dead father, finds a locked case containing love letters from another man.
Tracking down and visiting the man, he searches for some truths about his distant and dispassionate father. The theatrical settings for both the father and the other man seem allegorical, and reveal much about both characters.
There is a good deal of cat and mouse play going on between the son and the author of the love letters, but the film gets to the heart of the matter, revealing a truth about the father that is somewhat of a gift to the young man. At least, a gift that the older man is hoping to impart about life.
My only complaint about the film, being an English speaker, is that I had to rely on subtitles, some of which seemed to come and go rather quickly. I would have liked to savor the dialog - particularly the words of Juan, the older man - and watch the faces more carefully. With just two characters, much of the acting is centered on facial expressions.
Kitty Mánver, a woman plays the older man, and does an excellent, sensitive job of it. Dani Muriel does a nice job playing the younger man.
The unfolding of the story is very skillfully done, and the sets work so well in helping to describe the people involved in the story.
A sensitive and thought provoking film.
