La vida por delante

Finished their careers of Law and Medicine , respectively , Antonio Redondo (Fernando Fernan Gómez) and Josefina Castro (Analia Gadé) become a pair of young Spanish newlyweds , with no employment . They have reached a delicate economic balance after their marriage . His salary of attorney is limited but then his chief takes the retirement , and Antonio is fired . As they fight heavily in finding that first job , as Antonio enters the underworld looking for customers to offer their services as a lawyer , but he gets nothing . As the optimist marriage are looking for work to buy a little flat and start a life together , but they will face huge problems along the process . Meanwhile , Antonio finds all kinds of jobs as seller , teacher , presenter , among others . When Josefina suffers a car accident he offered to defend her , but things go wrong . His salary of commentator or teacher and her wages from the Josefina's psychologist consulting allowing them to survive and fantasize about some whim .

It is a good comedy of exquisite manners full of fine critical spirit and observation dealing with the enormous difficulties suffer a marriage throughout the process to buy a flat . Following the surprising adventures , misfortunes and incidents of this particular couple and their peculiar behaviors leading to hilarious situations . Some of them deserve to be mentioned , especially its final part , including the amazing car crash . All this is compellingly told , with some extremely comical scenes , adding emphasis on the masterfully paced scene of the accident , it is narrated under several sight-points . Also noteworthy are the soliloquies of the roles , which are face to face with the audience to tell her confidences . It is plenty of nice critical spirit and resulting to be an observational comedy of social habits , it displays a cleverly subversive tone , and intelligent as well as engaging dialogue , as well as a construction "Sui Generis" for the Spanish cinema by that time . Duo protagonists are really magnificent . Support cast is frankly excellent with several familiar faces , such as : Félix de Pomés , Manuel Alexandre , Xan das Bolas , Matilde Muñoz Sampedro , Francisco Bernal, Rafael Bardem , Maria Luisa Ponte , Gracita Morales and several others . And José Isbert proves his huge presence and experience , as Fernan Gómez thanksgiving at credit titles for accepting a little role . Followed by ¨La vida Alrededor¨ (1959) in which Josefina Castro/Analia Gadé and Antonio Redondo/Fernando Fernán Gómez live again twisted happenings , these situations will be more complicated since Josephine is expecting a child ; anticipating the debacle that can mean having a "child who eats everything, even food," Josefina imparts to the baby, still in her womb, higher education courses in order to save some money in schools .

The picture is well set in the fifties , splendidly photographed by the notorious cameraman Ricardo Torres , being stunningly shot on location , in Madrid , but a perfect remastering being necessary , that's why the film copy is washed-out . The motion picture was well and with lively rhythm directed by Fernando Fernán Gómez , in his second movie , he appeared in more than 200 films , made another 20 and wrote novels , plays and poetry . After his debut in "Manicomio" directed this great film "Life Ahead" with a great sense of humor as well as sparkling and witty dialogue , giving a fairly reliable analysis to show the society of the 50s . His turbulent career as a filmmaker has been little appreciated by the public , being more known for his acting career at the orders of other directors . This has made possible in part , we lose some of the gems that this director has given across his career . Fernando was one of the most complete Spanish Cinema artists and a member of the Spanish Royal Academy and one of the best actors of the film history . Along with Icíar Bollaín , he's the only person to have been nominated as performer El Abuelo (1998), director (El Viaje a Ninguna Parte (1986) and writer Lázaro De Tormes (2001) for three different movies at the Goya awards . He actually won in every category at least once . This prolific and prestigious actor also directed a few films , such as : ¨Lazaro De Tormes¨ , ¨Fuera De Juego ¨, ¨Mambrú Se Fue a La Guerra¨ , ¨5 Tenedores¨ , ¨5.000 Dias Juntos¨ , ¨Ninette¨ , ¨Venganza De Don Mendo¨ . These are stunning pictures but still far from the levels of talent would reach director years later with works like ¨El Mundo Sigue¨ (1963) ,¨El Extraño Viaje¨ that is today deemed a real ¨Cult Movie¨ and his greatest success ¨Viaje a Ninguna Parte¨ , the latter showing the harsh daily life of the traveler actors .

Filmed in 1958, the film shows a influence in the Italian neorealism, and owes a lot to a great director, Luis Garcia Berlanga. Fernando Fernan Gomez was 39 when he directed this film. Mr. Fernan Gomez has been involved with the Spanish cinema in more than five decades, as an actor, and as a director. Mr. Fernan Gomez has grown old in front of the camera.

The film is a satire about the years where housing was scarce and jobs were even scarcer, quite a contrast with the present Spain where life is easier than during the hard years when Franco ruled with an iron fist. Mr. Fernan Gomez plays Antonio, a lawyer that was not a good student and has to resort to schemes to eke a living for himself and the wife.

The comedy moves at a quick pace. It has wonderful moments for the star/director and for the gorgeous Analia Gade, who plays Josefina, who marries Antonio. The honeymoon trip proves to be a disaster. The two sets of parents serve as a Greek chorus to all what is happening.

Ms. Gade, is a joy to watch. She was a fine comedienne in her prime. We also get to see the late Rafaela Aparicio, who plays the maid at the home of Antonio's parents; she is a delight to watch. Ms. Aparicio was one of the glories of the Spanish cinema, always effective in whatever she did with the great directors, always playing ordinary women with a lot of wit and intelligence.

Finally, Mr. Fernan Gomez is wonderful as the confused Antonio. He shows he had an eye for whatever was going on at the time in Spain. He gives us a vision of the Madrid of 1958, a somehow provincial town, in comparison to the great metropolis it became.

This is a film to treasure because of what Fernando Fernan Gomez accomplished with it.

The film is a comedy that satirizes the most common themes of that era, from the perspective of a young newlywed couple (Fernán Gómez and Analía Gadé). These themes are still prevalent today, such as the fruitless search for a career-related job, the first apartment that never turns out to be the one they dreamed of, but is the most suitable for their budget, or the constant arguments between family and couple over who should be the breadwinner. All of this is embellished with a satirical tone, sometimes even bordering on the absurd. But in a very ingenious way to avoid the censorship of the time. We also find "atypical" moments in a Spanish film, such as the numerous fourth-wall breaks by the protagonist or the hilarious scene of José Isbert recounting his testimony as a witness, which puts the film on a loop due to the narrator's stuttering. Perhaps the pacing was a bit off-putting for me during the first act, but it later managed to pick up. Unreleased in physical format for over 30 years (since the days of VHS/BETA), "A Contracorriente Films" presented a restored copy in high definition.

I admire Fernando Fernán Gómez's work as a director, especially after seeing "El mundo sigue" (1963), which in my opinion I would consider the best realist film made in Franco's Spain. It's a shame that the latter was the one that caused it to fall into complete obscurity for more than 30 years. I would also recommend "El extraño viaje" (1967), "Mambrú se fue a la guerra" and "El viaje a ninguna parte" (both 1986).

Highly recommended to be rediscovered as a historical document of Spain portrayed in its respective era.