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Elsa & Fred

Original title: Elsa y Fred
  • 2005
  • Tous publics
  • 1h 48m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
3.6K
YOUR RATING
Manuel Alexandre and China Zorrilla in Elsa & Fred (2005)
ComedyDramaRomance

A love story about two elders who decide to enjoy the little time they have left.A love story about two elders who decide to enjoy the little time they have left.A love story about two elders who decide to enjoy the little time they have left.

  • Director
    • Marcos Carnevale
  • Writers
    • Marcos Carnevale
    • Marcela Guerty
    • Lily Ann Martin
  • Stars
    • Manuel Alexandre
    • China Zorrilla
    • Blanca Portillo
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.5/10
    3.6K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Marcos Carnevale
    • Writers
      • Marcos Carnevale
      • Marcela Guerty
      • Lily Ann Martin
    • Stars
      • Manuel Alexandre
      • China Zorrilla
      • Blanca Portillo
    • 22User reviews
    • 26Critic reviews
    • 52Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 9 wins & 7 nominations total

    Photos15

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    Top cast19

    Edit
    Manuel Alexandre
    Manuel Alexandre
    • Fred
    China Zorrilla
    China Zorrilla
    • Elsa
    Blanca Portillo
    Blanca Portillo
    • Cuca
    José Ángel Egido
    José Ángel Egido
    • Paco
    Omar Muñoz
    • Javi
    Roberto Carnaghi
    Roberto Carnaghi
    • Gabriel
    Carlos Álvarez-Nóvoa
    Carlos Álvarez-Nóvoa
    • Juan
    Gonzalo Urtizberéa
    • Alejo
    • (as Gonzalo Urtizberea)
    Fanny Gautier
    • Laura
    Federico Luppi
    Federico Luppi
    • Pablo
    Tomás Sáez
    Tomás Sáez
    • Goyo
    Manolo Solo
    Manolo Solo
    • Médico 2
    Julián Villagrán
    Julián Villagrán
    • Médico 1
    Roberto Mosca
    • Conserje
    Fabrizio Meschini
    • Botones
    Claudia Álvarez
    • Carla
    Pilar Valero
    • Mujer Bar
    Anita Ekberg
    Anita Ekberg
    • Sylvia
    • (archive footage)
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Marcos Carnevale
    • Writers
      • Marcos Carnevale
      • Marcela Guerty
      • Lily Ann Martin
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews22

    7.53.6K
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    Featured reviews

    10lgarzam

    Very good One!

    Wow!... maybe the best movie I've seen in the last decade. The story is simple but full of emotions. The main actor is so good, but the old ACTRESS is lovely, amazing, funny and beautiful. No doubt this movie should be considered for the foreign movies awards, they really deserve something! I just hope that it could be translated as well as they mean all the dialogs, because this is a jewel that has to be appreciated as it is. Please, don't waste your time and go to see this wonderful film. Hope you like it as I did. The film magazine is good enough and the locations looks nice and some are fancy. The volume could be better, I just recommend that adjust the volume a little bit higher for seniors who can have a bit problems to hear the sound. This is a story full of love, compassion, emotion, sadness, but first of all, a very good sense of humor, very hard to find in this times. I bet you will love it and more if you're in your late 60's, cause it gives you a new vision of life. Women are always women!
    8Anaheim92807

    Opposites do attract!

    For some reason, this film reminded me of the 1979 film "A Little Romance" except it starred two senior citizens instead of two youngsters. In "A Little Romance" two young kids fall in love and runaway to Venice with the help of and old con artist. The young girl is played by Diane Lane, while the con artist is played by Laurence Olivier.

    I don't know why "Elsa and Fred" took so long for this film to reach the U.S., but I finally saw it in Orange County, California, just last week. It's a warm and touching film largely due to the two main characters. Both of them (Elsa and Fred) are living alone in adjacent Madrid apartments. Fred is withdrawn and still getting used to being a widower. He is a very practical, straight-laced gentleman. In contrast, Elsa lives in a fantasy world conjured up by her dreams of someday wading in the Trevi Fountain in Rome ala Fellini's "La Dolci Vita." She a persistent liar, risk taker and bold adventuress. She gradually draws Fred out of his shell and into her world. Who says that there can't be romance after 70?!

    The two actors who play Elsa and Fred are remarkable. Their dialogues and facial expressions give their characters real depth, tenderness and life. Their years as seniors gradually whither away in the film as they slowly fall in love and become "teenagers" again figuratively speaking. The theme of "Trevi Fountain" runs throughout the film from the beginning during the credits until the very end.

    Yes, Americans can enjoy this foreign film. I certainly did!
    myriamob

    wonderful movie!

    What a touching movie! what great performances and what a story. Sad though but still unforgettable! Federico Luppi's scene... great as usual, he's like wine, gets better as times goes through. China Zorrilla, what can I say, I saw her previously and instantly fell in love with her. She's such a good ACTRESS (yes, with capital letters), she should be nominated for an award in the U.S., like Norma Aleandro once..... let's face it, Latin American movies are good, really good. These ones and independent movies are far better than the usual made-in-Hollywood movies, where mostly always, when you take out the special effects, nothing is left! Again, I do recommend this movie to everybody, you'll never forget it!
    10cmmescalona

    Awesome!

    Marcello, te amo! Te amo más de lo que nunca he amado a nadie... Gracias! The fountain's sound vanishes in these last words, as it happened in La Dolce Vita. That love professed and expressed is the central character of the film.

    Beware: you'll find yourself crying and smiling like an idiot throughout this beautiful story.

    Is there anything I'd leave out of it? Not a single word, not a single take, nor a music note. The acting is top notch. I'd rather say "heavyweight". Maybe it is just that I haven't seen such performances in a long time.

    This is a film to open your heart, no matter the age, to a reality few of us like to think about. Prepare yourself for a ride of joy and happiness in a world so full of trouble.
    6jpschapira

    China...

    Talking about China Zorrilla is the same as talking about Federico Luppi. The difference, personally, is that I've seen Luppi, and been able to admire him in his work, but I haven't seen this old woman who gets better with the years; like wine. I haven't seen her at all. However, she has always been and will always be one of the biggest Argentine celebrities and best actresses of our history; and if some critics say that she is "for an Oscar" in this film, it is because she is.

    I know the United States will never watch an Argentine film and consider its cast seriously, but who knows? We've had Best Foreign Film nominations in the past. At her 83 years old, and gratefully for the ones who adore her, she is able to make at least one film per year. In this year's work, she plays Elsa, the leading woman of "Elsa & Fred".

    The movie's title proposes a clichéd romantic comedy, coming from the United States, like, for example, "Alex & Emma", "The prince & me", you know… The thing is it is from Argentina, and it has one element that separates it grandly from the titles I've mentioned; it comes by the side of age. Elsa and Fred (Manuel Alexandre) are really old persons, supposedly in their 70's, and they are falling in love as the youngsters are in the latter films.

    It is important to say that if the movie had no image, and if the voices weren't so revealing, Elsa and Fred would be just like those youngsters. This is just because of the words they say, because of the way they speak, however their story is sad. Fred has recently lost his wife, and he is locked up in his apartment, that is just next to Elsa's. She has sons, grandsons, brothers, husbands, I don't know how many because she is a tricky woman, but director Marcos Carnevale and writing partner Marcela Guerty (writers of great Argentine shows like "22, El loco" and powerful movies like "El día que me amen") try to keep it as real as possible so we can believe we can find love again and again, no matter our age. It doesn't reach that much, though, and this and other stuff that are not worth mentioning make the film fall a little short from good.

    What was amazing was to see the movie theater replete with old people; people as old as the film's main characters. And none of them was alone. What I'm trying to say is that the film achieved an objective in getting these couples to watch the movie. For their pleasure, there were lots of beautiful places in Carnevale's camera, and also incredible stars in the cast, including Roberto Carnaghi, who plays one of Elsa's sons and Federico Luppi, who appears late but amazes as always. He is just there for three minutes, three amazing minutes.

    Ironically, because I said this could be an American film, the opening is undoubtedly at the level of one of those films; with beautiful breathtaking images, like in dreams, with water in the middle and blurry frames explained by Lito Vitale's unique music, in his unique language, which makes me wonder how come he never made music for films all around the world.

    But in the end, it is China Zorrilla, whose mannerisms win the audiences' hearts, and whose grace is untouched, as if she was still a teenager in search of her first love.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Connections
      Alternate-language version of Elsa & Fred (2014)
    • Soundtracks
      Minueto en Sol Mayor
      From the "Album of Ana Magdalena Bach"

      Written by Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performed by China Zorrilla (Piano)

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    FAQ19

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 20, 2006 (France)
    • Countries of origin
      • Argentina
      • Spain
    • Official site
      • Official site (Spain)
    • Languages
      • Spanish
      • Italian
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Ельза і Фред
    • Filming locations
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Production companies
      • Shazam
      • MC Millecento
      • Tesela Producciones Cinematográficas
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $189,024
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $10,246
      • Jun 29, 2008
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,994,087
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 48 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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    Manuel Alexandre and China Zorrilla in Elsa & Fred (2005)
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