Le miracle de P. Tinto

It was the highlight of Göteborg Film Festival the year I saw it (around 2002 I believe) and I have been looking for it in stores ever since, but not yet found it (though I had mistaken one of the words in the original title so that may explain why).

It is in the same spirit as such weird comedy masterpieces as Jeunet & Caros Delicatessen and City of Lost Children at in no way less than those two.

I'm sad that it doesn't seem to have reached a larger audience. It really deserves to be a classic.

If you can see this film, don't you miss it!

This film is wonderful. It opens with a superbly parodied Kafka parody in black and white set in an insane asylum, complete with Polish dialogue, subtitles, and bureaucratic "Fraktur-ized" Spanish signs and directives all about. It ends with a black and white newsreel from years earlier, and in between occurs some of the wildest comedy I've ever seen, including Martians, a time machine, an African child delivered in answer to an adoption prayer, a remodel contractor who goes bezerk, an express train that roars by every twenty-five years... I could go on and on, since that's just what the film does, with one wild idea after the next. Certain ideas which seemed in questionable taste or too corny at first encounter I grew to appreciate as time progressed, since the wild ideas of this film are cleverly developed, not simply dropped in search of new inspiration.

The central plot of the film is a man's longing for a suitable heir to the Pinto family enterprise, a "oblea" - communion wafer factory, and his struggle to conserve a centuries-long contract with the Vatican - that is, if he can't make more money by going into pizza or quick-order chicken. But this film has several parallel plots (as more of today's novels should) which I won't describe. I don't wish to spoil anyone's fun by over-divulging.

My DVD version came with a choice of English and French subtitles. Of course for the Polish scenes, Spanish ones are automatic. It is not necessary to know Spanish to love this film, but try to appreciate the tone and style of the Martians' speech. This film is a delight! Wonderful! It's rated, I believe, suitable for all audiences - at least all Spanish audiences. There is sexual humor, however, and some death (black humor) - indeed, there's about every sort of non-crude humor ever devised. Still, I would hesitate to show it to young children.

This is a the hysterical and completely surreal story of the sweet and innocent P.tinto who more than anything else wants a child. His longing is shared by his wife, Olivia, whose eye-sight leaves a lot to be desired. After mix-ups and time travelling everything ends happily. The film is clearly inspired by "Delicatessen" but is not as black. It´s a film with many memorable moments and it will make you smile for months after. If you want to know if your friends have seen it just say: "tralalí, tralalí".

Good film, I loved it.

El Milagro de P.Tinto is a mixture of the slapstick and the sick humour, a sort of "slapsick", if you will. It takes pains not to base the film in reality (which is a good thing: all too often comedy is sacrificed to the god of reality - why? Life appears to be more tragedy than comedy). The visual effects are nicely realised, and the humour leaps out of every frame. If you´re an English-speaker who is learning Spanish, you could do a lot worse than see this film, as the humour is very visual, so it is easy to understand.

But most of the Spanish people I´ve been talking to absolutely hated it. They all say the same thing: that the film is stupid, a silly, pointless film with little to recommend it. The question is: is your local cinema a place for such a film?

The thing is, I came, I saw it, I laughed (a lot), and I left. It was a good way to pass a couple of hours. After all, isn´t that what cinema´s about, entertainment? And P.Tinto certainly entertained. It is a witty, observational view of the world (if a little warped). The cinematography is excellent, and it takes pains to replicate the atmosphere created by other classic films (the opening sequence, set in the psychiatric hospital is a good example, as is the parody of E.T.).

So, come on, Spain - stop worrying about the intellectual impact of the movie and see El Milagro de P.Tinto for what it really is: a bloody good laugh.

It´s one of the most funny films I've ever seen... It´s an unreal story perfectly drawed by good actors. Javier Fesser paint a magic world, mixturing present, past and future. Every scene is a magic moment. Simply laugh!!!