User Reviews

Adoption is not a theme one finds often enough in films; we do not recall ever seeing it being examined in the Spanish cinema. With all its ramifications, the thorny subject of trying to rear a child is a complicated matter.

The idea of bringing a problem boy into one's household shows a lot of courage by the couple at the center of the story, Pepe, and Lucia. The eight year old Manu has been brought from his native Peru, but he has been rejected by two prospective parents before Pepe and Lucia decided to be adoptive parents; the couple is still undergoing a selection process in which their lives are examined to see if they fit the program.

It is clear Lucia cannot conceive a child. Pepe is frustrated by this turn of events. In order to help with the household chores, Rosa, a Peruvian maid was engaged. The boy relates to her in a different way he does to the adoptive parents. Manu is a bit of a rebel, trying to adjust to his new environment with little success.

The arrival of a new social worker, Irene, taking the place of the regular Jimena, brings a lot of questions to both Pepe and Lucia. He is at the point where he questions himself about the wisdom of trying to keep Manu. When Rosa is asked to take the boy to the dentist, she goes to some friends from her country where a revelation takes place. As Rosa takes Manu back, Pepe and Lucia have come to their own decision about the fate of the boy.

David Pianell, who up to now has been contributing as a writer in the Spanish cinema, tries his hand at directing the material he co-wrote with Santos Mercero. The film is claustrophobic, in more ways than the fact it has been shot in an apartment with no contact with the outside world. The couple at the center of this tale have too many conflicts to do a good job at parenting a small boy that comes from a different background than theirs.

The acting is evenly good by the small cast involved. Alberto San Juan and Natalia Mateo appear as Pepe and Lucia. Marta Aledo surprises as Irene, the social worker, and Norma Martinez makes an enigmatic Rosa.