6/10
Fun caper movie about grifters and swindlers , plenty of twists and turns
12 August 2019
This is a slightly funny film with entertaining events , giggles , emotion , twists and romances ; being originally written by the prestigious screen-writer and filmmaker Antonio Cuadri . This is a typical Spanish comedy with the customary ingredients such as silly humor , embarrassing events and close relationships among people to commit a fraud . A con-artist producer (Karra Errejalde) of a bankrupt film Company along with his colleague Sabino (Ramón Agirre) and a filmmaker named Julen (Unax Ugalde) attempt to lure a Mexican investor called Pamela (Escalante) in giving them money to finance a new film by hiring a movie star's look-alike (Jordi Mollá as Litarco and Rey Silvela) and passing him off as the real deal . As the film production attempts to contract a famous Cuban actor, Rey also played by Mollà , but things go wrong . Along the way, the mafia go after Litarco who debts them a lot of cash , meanwhile he tries to make love with Rey's leading lady, Joselyn (Barbara Mori).

Amusing and twisted comedy about a disconcerting caper with a lot of surprises and turns . This zany and nutty international comedy moves in fits and starts most of which would be desirable , with more traps the viewer resists any kind, and some moments of enjoyment and others quite a few ridiculous . Dealing with a swindle in which a crew of failed producers enlist a botcher ex-convict named Litarco to pose as the Cuban actor who is attending the famous the San Sebastián International Film Festival to receive a honorific award . It is a special Spanish comedy from 2017 with the usual ingredients such as wild humor topped with a little bit of original touches here and there and the tone of the film is light-hearted . It's an agreeable , moving film , perfectly acted and concerning the narration about the relationship among a botcher ex-delinquent , some unfortunate producers , a Mexican actress , and the nasty Mafia pursue them . It turns out to be pleasantly fun that offers no intellectual stimulus whatsoever ; an exercise in pure amusement in which entertainment and fun are guaranteed . The characters are quite odd , grotesque and weird and the film races on at incredible speed . Sitting in a strange middle ground between the completely absurd and the stylishly cool . Nice acting by Jordi Mollá in double role as a womanizer trickster and his doppelganger actor . Splendid , as usual , Karra Errejalde as the hapless producer with no money , well accompanied by a fine plethora of secondaries as Unax Ugalde , Ramón Agirre , Bárbara Goenaga , Bárbara Mori and brief cameo by director Fernando Colomo . On the surface, ¨La Gran Vida¨ doesn't get much wrong , it looks okay , the comedy misunderstandings pile up in a reasonably amusing fashion and the performance is acceptable . My feelings are extremely mixed but I must admit there are things I haven't been able to stop laughing about ; but also has the usual ups and downs .

Including a spotless pictorial as well as colorful cinematography by Josu Inchaustegui (Paradise Hills , La sombra de la ley , Cien años de perdón , El desconocido, Extinction , Inside , A cambio de nada) . Shot on location in Kursal palace, Hotel Maria Cristaina , San Sebastian ; showing splendidly luxurious places such as Hotels , luxury restaurants and the glamorous San Sebastian Festival . Lively and catching musical score by Dario Valderrama , adding wonderful songs . This Operation Goldenshell was compellingly directed by Antonio Cuadri who was born in Huelva (Andalucia) location where he shot his main and big-budgeted film titled ¨The heart of the earth¨ with an international cast . Cuadri is a fine craftsman with some hit , such as ¨La Gran Vida¨ , ¨Eres Mi Heroe¨ and previously made a documentary titled ¨Riotinto (2004)¨. Nowadays , he only directs TV episodes (Cuentame, Manolito Gafotas , UCO , Todos Hombres Sois Iguales , Al Salir De Clase , among them).
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