User Reviews

"A box of buttons" is a Spanish short from 5 years ago. The writer and director is María Reyes Arias, who has really been more of an actress before she made this and has not worked in film sadly in the last 5 years. Her effort here won the Short Film Goya back a couple year ago. Goyas are the Spanish Film Awards. The main character in this movie is a little girl who really has a tough time. Her mother is very sick in a coma and she struggles to get long well with her father. The family doesn't have much money, so all she gets as a present is stuff for school, but no toys. And if that isn't even worse enough, she finds out that the Three Kings (Spanish equivalent to Santa) do not exist. However, she makes the most of the situation by acting as if she has a new super-modern toy an invisible doll. Her friends believe her and let her play with their toys if they may play with the invisible doll. The ending is actually a lesson on compassion when she accepts a new invisible doll from her friends after the old one broke. She was about to tell them that the Three Kings do not exist, but stops speaking right in time, so she will not make them as sad as she was. Minor criticisms are that the film's title could have been better or what will be if the other girls tell their parents about the doll. I guess they will not be as nice as the clerk and keep the story intact. But that's just nitpicking. Good short movie with lots of heart and some wit and I recommend it. I see the actor who played the dad seems pretty known in Spain and has been in the likes of "Volver" etc. I hope some more of the cast and crew can still have a career these days, maybe also the lead actress. This is her only credit in her IMDb body of work, so it looks like she may be back to a normal life.