El Test

Based on the play by Jordi Vallejo, follows a group of people who must decide whether they want to get 100,000 euros now, or wait ten years to get one million. Paula (Miren Ibarguren) and Héctor (Carlos Santos) are going through a stage of economic crisis. His bar is not doing well and the mortgage is tightening. They join an old and rich friend , Toni (Alberto San Juan), his girlfriend , the psychologist Berta (Blanca Suárez), then Toni offers them a choice based on a personality test created by Berta. The question is to find out as follows : whether you want one hundred thousand euros now or one million in ten years .They think about it while the two couples have dinner and subsequently to make an engaging decision.

A choice and its consequences are the twisted premises with which this dramatic comedy is developed , being based on a play by Jordi Vallejo . The film, which brings together several friends after many years apart, taking place almost entirely in one house and in one day. Status is contrasted, ideological clichés , problems emerge and other situations are loaded , it seems like satire with dramatic elements and the fundamental key to the story is located, which is the aforementioned choice with an economic crisis as a background.

Dani de la Orden's bewildering comedy/drama ¨El test¨ blends drama, intriguing elements, touches of humor , emotion and tongue-in-cheek ; so, the tone of the film is light-hearted as well as stirring . The film starts at a slow pace, and it took a while to catch me , when it did it was enjoyable enough . It is an amusing and twisted film concerning two couples get together for a dinner , then a provoking stake takes place and dark secrets start to unveil , the equilibrium trembles and things go wrong . The development is slight, balanced in its narrative and performances, but the initial premise is diluted in dramatic conflicts and traumas that could well be separated from the choice made.

Such a choice generates obvious doubts, a confrontation of principles as demagogy, idealism, theory, reality and cheatings through a dinner with nice moments in a trivial clash of personalities with some outlandish characters , a marriage on the economic edge , a wealthy-boastful man and an expert in self-help providing various psychological theories about self-control, decision-making capacity and emotional intelligence.

Th is is an uneven film as the mood of a reunion with a chaotic dinner did not quite spark as it could ; the characters have little dimension and end up with not very credible reasons to provide an emotional background ; the secondary cast as the great Antonio Resines as the grandfather is frankly wasted ; and the resolution is not utterly satisfactory. The brilliant beginning idea is developed in a marvelous crescendo that turns into rapidly the situation from a nice dinner with old friends into a bloody battleground that reveals the surprising secrets . As well as the darkest secrets are disclosed to all of them and then awry consequences take place , some are cunningly revealed only to the eyes of spectators . A wonderful and talented plethora of actors forms the stunning cast ofvtwo couples , such as Miren Ibarguren , Carlos Santos and Alberto San Juan , Blanca Suárez , both of whom to be followed as couple in the succesful : Alex de la Iglesia's El Cuarto pasajero . They're the best at the current Spanish cinema, implementing nice interpretations , in this melodrama interspersed with twists , turns , top-shelf comedic flair , naturalistic theatrics and turning to be some claustrophobic .

It contains colorful cinematography by cameraman Pau Muñoz , shot on location in a luxury mansion from Tres Cantos Madrid, though very stagy .As well as catching and moving musical score by Fernando Velazquez . This fast crazy motion picture was middlingly directed by Dani de la Orden. He is a good craftsman who has directed a few fine films, such as : "Mama o Papa" , "Hasta que la boda nos separe" , "Barcelona noche de invierno" and the successful "El Pregon" starred by Berto Romero . And some episodes of TV series as "Elite" and "Boca Norte". Rating : 5/10. Regular but passable . This average film will appeal to Spanish comedy enthusiasts .