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PeniLein
Reviews
Ocho apellidos vascos (2014)
Forgettable TV-style local-jokes movie
This movie was a huge box office event in Spain, but is not an interesting film at all, especially if you aren't Spanish. It's basically a dull Romantic Comedy full of current jokes about local topics. Directing is even worst than script, with some really poor acting performances (others are quite good), and shooting, cinematography and sound typical of a soap opera.
Esteros (2016)
Dull and cheesy film about coming out of the closet
I've seen this movie at a Gay Film Festival, and it was probably the less attractive of the six movies that I saw there (and the other five were not masterpieces but regular movies, so...).
The Script by Andy Nachon is interesting, but Director Papu Curotto did not achieve much with it. Most of the time, you feel like you are watching a Hallmark Channel TV Movie about "the importance of accepting love no matter what form it takes" -something quite cliché a decade after 'Water Lilies' and tons of similar films, and 25 years after 'Fucking Amal', 'In & Out', 'Emporte-moi', 'The Crying Game', 'Fresa y chocolate', ...). The freshness and realism provided by the Script is lost through the stiff and artificial aesthetic of Directing. The talent of Actors is wasted, amazing landscape is overused like in a kitsch tourism promotional video, the same happens with exposition flashbacks like in a trash romantic movie from the 80's, and the abuse of background songs is just ridiculous.
Work of Cinematographer and children Actors performance stand out.
Como una novia sin sexo (2016)
Smart movie about friendship and gay love
Three very close male friends and a sexy girl. A simple story, a realistic and fun account about friendship, love, youth, sexual taboo and growing up. 'Como una novia sin sexo' is a good example of what talented young Latin filmmakers are doing with scarce resources. The film has a solid script (Diego Mina & Santa Ana) lucidly directed by Lucas Santa Ana, achieving amazing and natural acting performances with a smartly chosen cast. Director also uses wisely the natural landscape (sea and forest) to support the story.
La Ciénaga (2001)
Profound portrait of a small-town upper-class family
This film meant a leap in Lucrecia Martel's career but also a blizzard of fresh air for Argentine cinema, which had become stiff and too ideological during the '90s. It has an interesting script, that keeps you absorbed by the tense climate and insinuated secrets at the home (maybe the main element of the movie), without great dramatic actions. However the major virtue of this film is in acting, sound and cinematography. The diverse and witty cast offers outstanding performances. The sound design is a solid example of what cinema can achieve through sound. While cinematography perfectly shapes the image according to each dramatic situation. In addition, the underlying themes, such as social differences and intrafamily secrets, are approached with admirable subtlety and depth.