Historias lamentables

It's been so long since Javier Fesser delivered a masterpiece of comedy like "El Milagro de P. Tinto" and I was afraid that after the letdown of "Campeones", which was a huge blockbuster and won Best Picture at the Goya awards, Fesser would be tempted to go the easier way to do a smash hit, but he just did not play it safe. This is his very own "Pulp Fiction"... 4 stories that may seem completely disconnected but ultimately add to a whole in a rollercoaster of emotions, twists and turns and dark comedy. A complete must-see, and it's even better if you know nothing beforehand, try to even avoid the trailers, and just let yourself go into Fesser's unique and genius vision.

Viewing this movie, as an italian "cinema lover", it's impossible for me not to remember the great film "I Mostri" directed by Dino Risi in 1963, who starred Vittorio Gassman and Ugo Tognazzi among the other character actors belonging to the "crème de la crème" used to perform during the Sixties in many works of the so called "Commedia alla Italiana". But that was (and still remains) a Masterpiece of the European cinematography!... In "Historias Lamentables" Director Fesser makes use of a certain amount of latin "black humour" with the help of a good cast of actors but the four stories are weaks and someway predictables. That said, if you have two hours to spend lightly it could be a nice choice.

This might have been written better, I usually marvel at Spanish cinema for the way it's written and directed, but that's just my personal taste. Movie doesn't try to be AAA, or to give deep coherency to what's going on, or to it's characters even - it is just as crazy and unexpected as the life we live is, and I honestly feel that was the honest intention of the people who made it. Ending feels a bit rushed, when you're bombed entire life with big Hollywood catchphrases and bad guys giving it a big ceremony before kicking the bucket, but again - life turns around for better or for worse in a blink. Why wouldn't art imitate life... And honestly, and you may call me a crybaby, I applauded alone in my room when I saw the ending. It does not try to keep you in your seat for another 10 minutes, it just concludes with a very simple underlying message. And it's satisfactory, while adding an element of goofiness just to stay on it's own rails that it rode for the entire runtime.

I loved it, I'm generally tired of spanish movies. But nobody dares to do this, or any of the films he has made possible ever. Unique style, unique characters, fun and different. And this specific film reminds me of the short stories of the 60's Italian movies somehow. The only thing I didn't like was the techno music in most of the sequences. It was pretty distracting, sometimes too loud to understand the dialog and not very aligned with the style of each story.

Anyway, it is a good movie. Javier Fesser will always be my favorite.

It is a long time since I saw such a funny film. Really worth seeing. Very nice plot-twists and incredible characters.