Cabeza de perro

My personal test to know whether I really-really like a film is to find myself halfway through it thinking "wow, this film is great!". Not something that happens to me that often, mind you. Tonight, as I was watching this film, I found myself thinking several times, this is just great!! Great acting, beautiful script, good visuals, at last a film that provides the whole experience. The only other film that matched my expectations this year was Gondry's the Science of Sleep, and if you happen to watch both films you will find some unexpected connections, namely, a strong, vivid and unusual main character, an affectionate look at the "otherness", and a director in a state of grace who has managed to portray visually the point of view of someone who doesn't experience life, reality, you-name-it in the same way than the rest of us. AND it's an oddball love story. What more can you ask?

Dramatic film dealing with loneliness , friendship , a love story , old man-young boy relationship and many other things . This is a perceptible and enjoyable portrait of a young and his adventures in the big city . It is an intense drama about a boy who lives in a bubble because of a rare brain disease . An odd but compelling film dealing with Samuel (Juan Jose Ballesta of El Bola), an adolescent who suffers from a deep sleep (similarly to River Phoenix's ¨My own private Idaho) , losing all notion of time and it is the heart of this flick . He usually has sleepiness and suddenly suffers black out . To complicate things, Samuel falls asleep in the back of a vehicle . A bit later on , he'll end up in Madrid, a city where he doesn't know anybody . As the center of the story is the change in his life, at almost all levels . In Madrid he embarks on a quest to find work . Samuel encounters a job at a supermarket, but he is fired when suffers narcolepsy . At the same time, he meets a quirk girl named Consuelo (Adriana Ugarte of ¨Castillos De Carton¨ and ¨Combustion¨) and likes Samuel from the beginning . Not having means to provide for himself , Samuel goes on looking for work and he is hired as a helper for a old man (veteran and prestigious secondary actor Manuel Alexandre). Meanwhile , the son of the old man harasses and mistreats to Samuel .

¨Cabeza De Perro¨is a poetic as well as bittersweet movie, mostly deals with loneliness , friendship and an enjoyable love story . This is a haunting and pretty sad tale about a young boy suffering from a rare brain disorder and spells that afflict to him , along with his survival-fight into a big city . The film works on many levels, but does have its flaws . Some excessive sleep suffering scenes make the film drag in the middle as well as an exaggerated use of voice in off . The film is an allegory for a lot of things . Mostly I see it as a commentary on the basic human needs for love , job , family and home . Juan Jose Ballesta in his finest performance , it's not bad, but it probably could have been better . Sympathetic acting buy Adriana Ugarte as a kindred spirit and Manuel Alexandre as Angelito, an Alzheimer sufferer . Good support cast such as Jordi Dauder as Samuel's father , Ana Gracia as Consuelo's mother ,Ana Wagener as Rosa , Julián Villagrán as Eduardo and Alex O'Dogherty as Domingo/Narrator . Colorful and appropriate cinematography by Alex Catalan , a good cameraman who has photographed a lot of successful films such as ¨Even the rain¨ , ¨Grupo 7¨, ¨Habitacion En Roma¨ and ¨Voz Dormida¨. Emotive and adequate musical score by Enrique Justo and the same director . The motion picture was well written and directed by Santi Amodeo . This is his third film , he had previously directed ¨El Factor Pilgrim¨ and ¨Astronautas¨. ¨Cabeza De Perro¨ is a rare flick , and not everyone would enjoy it or get it ; as it results to be a sensitive and touching motion picture though with some depressing moments. But if you're looking for something different, thought-provoking, and of course, want to see Juan Jose Ballesta , then take a look.

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