If Only...

A convincing Spanish/Brit romantic comedy with good actors delivering fine interpretations , fun scenes and nice direction . It is an exciting film displaying a touching love story , brief nudism and interesting drama and plot points well written by Rafa Russo . In ¨The man with rain in his shoes¨ , we see a surprisingly thoughtful approach to an otherwise tiring premise, as confident audiences will be well gripped into a peculiar and attractive romance . As young lovers in London are wrapped up in a love triangle that may not be exactly what it seems . Dealing with an out-of-luck actor named Victor Bukowski (Douglas Henshall) desperate to win back the affections of his cute ex-sweetheart (Lena Headey) , unexpectedly stumbles upon a miraculously way to turn back the clock . But a new suitor (Michael Strong) suddenly sparks a passion that has been sleeping within her and they have a deep crush on each other . When she refuses to retake their relationship , Victor is given a surprising second chance to return and correct the mistake which led to their break-up , while falling in love for a waiter (Penelope Cruz) . In the game of love, three's are wild.

¨The Man with Rain in His Shoes¨ is a stylish and agreeable comedy seasoned with diverting scenes , alluring mess , confusion , entertainment and professionally directed by Maria Ripoll . This is a Drama/Romance/comedy movie ; the picture develops a triangular drama about a peculiar couple and the twisted relationship among them , filled with lasting images , delightful performances , sense of style and slow moving . Resulting to be a decent movie , though slightly monotonous due to be really limited to a few characters and a simple plot . Regular and unbalanced , but gaining the sympathy almost at all times . It is an amusing picture dealing with couple relationships , jealousy , loving conflicts and many other things . This is a charming and warming comedy with a lot of incidents in which each time more dangerously out of control , including attractant love stories in which there are twisted messes , as well as the ordinary comedian clichés . Colorful story of loves and jealousy in which predominates amiable , attracting roles who become embroiled in multiple messes , being played by a good cast , with agreeable performance from Douglas Henshall as a shambling , out-of-work actor who attempts to stop his ex-girlfriend from marrying another man , while Lena Headey is very enjoyable as the sensitive Sylvia . They're well accompanied by a very good support cast , such as Penelope Cruz , Michel Strong , Gustavo Salmerón , Eusebio Lázaro , Charlotte Coleman and special appearance by Elizabeth McGovern.

Here stands out the luxurious cinematography by Javier Salmones , shot on location in London . The motion picture was professionally directed by Maria Ripol , though it t has some moments of enjoyment as well as amusement and others quite a few embarrassing . Maria Ripoll was born in 1964 in Barcelona, Catalonia , Spain and considered to be one of the best Spanish female filmmakers . She is an expert director and assistant director , being especially known for the successful "Your Life in 65" (2006) , ¨Tortilla Soup¨ (2001) , ¨Lluvia En Zapatos¨ or ¨The Man with Rain in His Shoes¨ (1998) and ¨Rastres de Sàndal¨ (2014) and ¨Vivir dos veces¨ (2019). Maria has directed known international stars , such as : Penélope Cruz , Lena Headey , Héctor Helizondo , Leonardo Sbaraglia , Tchéky Karyo , Jacqueline Obradors , Elizabeth Peña , Douglas Henshall , Mark Strong , among others . She also made a thriller that failed at box office titled ¨Utopia¨ with Najwa Nimri , José Garcia , Emma Vilarasau and Fele Martínez . And this one ¨The man with rain in his shoes¨that has got several nominations and prizes , such as : Montréal World Film Festival 1998 Winner Best Screenplay Rafa Russo ; Bogota Film Festival 1999 Winner Bronze Precolumbian Circle Maria Ripoll ; Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival 1998 Winner Gran Angular Award Best Film Maria Ripoll. And Goya Awards 2000 Nominee Best New Director Maria Ripoll .

This movie started out a little too slow for me and I would have turned it off, but there was nothing else on that I wanted to see so I decided to give it a chance. And I'm glad I did. I won't bore you with the plot because you've probably read the other reviews. What I liked about this movie over other romantic comedies is that you never really know how it's going to end or who is going to end up together. Great use, by the way, of the tattered umbrella prop. Why can't Hollywood make comedies this unpredictable? Well, it seems I don't have enough lines for my review to be published yet so I'll tack something on here. If you like " What If" fables, this is the perfect movie for you. Similar to the movie "Sliding Doors" I found this movie much more satisfying.

1st watched 10/9/2001 - 8 out of 10(Dir-Maria Ripoll): Compelling romantic fantasy which keeps you interested all the way to the end. Believable characters played by little known British actors with Penelope Cruz playing the love interest near the end of the Movie. The story is basically about love gone bad, but is given a second chance by some interesting characters at a junkyard similar to the theme of the TV show `Twice in a Lifetime.' What is different in this movie is that we are never quite sure who to cheer for. It starts out being a weeper where we are routing for the dumped male character played by Douglas Henshall, then by the end were routing for the forgotten female character played by Lena Heady. It seems to be about how life gives us many chances to redeem ourselves despite our mistakes, with the two characters from the junkyard representing that `entity' that gives us the second chance. Definitely not a Hollywood-made romantic comedy because of the way that we are twisted from one character to the other in our loyalty and we are made to think about real life rather than just smiling about the played out fantasy-type life that never really happens(Aka - American made romantic comedies). These are the kinds of movies that made me a movie buff but they seem to be hard to find these days in our predictable Hollywood-glamorized video stores(look for this one in the comedy racks despite it's multi-faceted themes and multi-genred experience.)

I wrote a review for this movie, it got lost somehow and never showed up. I like this movie so much I have to rewrite it again. First of all, I do not agree that this is a depressing movie. It's rather charming and fun, the story is unpredictable, great acting and beautiful girls. Many of us have lost someone important because of our own mistake and wish to be given a second chance to make things right. This movie give me a new prospective, to move on with live with new enthusiasm and not to dwell on the past, as Victor said "I am not stuck anymore".

Twice Upon a Yesterday is a truly unique movie. It is not your typical romantic comedy - rather it is a truly mind provoking exercise. While it may not appeal to all, it certainly has a certain charm that even the most vocal critics of the genre will find appealing.