User Reviews

The world, as seen from the very adult eyes and precocious mind of Valentin, an 8-year old boy living with grandmother (Carmen Maura) while his father goes from girlfriend to girlfriend, can be a somewhat alienating place. Especially when the grandmother constantly talks to herself and complains about everything around her and his father is barely there. He's aware that his grandmother, despite her abrasive temper, loves him, but she's not a real mother to him. His mother, as Valentin has been told, ran off with someone else and will not see him. And her mere suggestion will tick off his father's ugly, violent streak.

However, what seems to be the basis of a story that might have overtones of James Baldwin's style becomes something totally different, almost lyrical. Valentin, despite being surrounded by negative energy, is quite resilient in the way not many children may be. His conversations with his Uncle Chiche in regards to women's beauty (because he longs to see his own father settle down), as well as his growing friendship with Rufo, a musician, are steps to his own acceptance in his world. However, it's with his meeting with Leticia (Julieta Cardinali) that he discovers a kindred spirit, even a temporary, surrogate mother.

Their encounter is literally bursting in a bubble of enormous poignancy that threatens to overwhelm the camera lens capturing its story. It's as if Agresti wanted to really focus in on this particular moment in time when everything seemed perfect... and in his own interview, he states that this was the event that led to the making of his story. With exquisite period pop music, they meet and go to the movies, where they bond, and in a gesture of near-infinite compassion, Leticia smiles down at Valentin as he enjoys the movie. Later on he confides a truth about his father that brings tears to her eyes... and in a quiet moment in the park, they promise never to speak of this to anyone -- not even Valentin's father.

Of course, Leticia does tell his father -- even when in a heartbreaking scene, she denies this to Valentin even though her body language suggests otherwise. It's here when Valentin has his only burst of rage: he's a child caught in the middle, being called derogatory names, and he's tired of it. All he wants is the love of a mother.

VALENTIN boasts the presence of Carmen Maura, an Almodovar veteran. Her presence is that of a woman who clearly loves her grandson, but has become so bitter with life due to the destinies of her two sons and the death of her husband that her health, and possibly her sanity, is failing. She is not a one-note crusty old lady: one scene tells pages of who she is, who she was, and how deeply she misses the man of her life. Agresti himself is fearsome as the father. He is a man who no one wants to mess with because his temper is out the window, and later revelations from Leticia and a crucial character Valentin meets near the end of the film point at his abusive, possibly even psychotic nature.

The young actor playing Valentin, however, is an inspired choice. More so in a time when child actors tend to read their lines instead of actually feeling them, Rodrigo Noya, virtually a stand-in for Agresti himself, may not know the realities of acting at a technical level, but he plays his part with maturity, and his reactions never border on cute. His rendition of Valentin is that of a boy who knows what he wants to be when he grows up, one who wants to solve people's problems and make things better (even when this may bring his into trouble), but one who isn't quite aware of people's prejudices as with the Anti-Semitism that pervades throughout some of the story's characters.

It's a good move for Agresti to not move into explaining certain details of the plot's resolution. (In this respect it pays to know Spanish and read between the lines.) Valentin's quest for a mother ends more than satisfying, and even when his destiny seems to be unclear, his omniscient narration leads the audience to understand that things will be better for him. After all... is not an astronaut, he can very well become a writer, and that writer is Agresti himself. And that has to account for something.