Very agreeable Spanish comedy with enjoyable screenplay , nostalgic events and familiar actors of the Sixties . In a small town, it is decided to raffle a Christmas basket on Three Kings Day. It includes a lottery ticket that results to be awarded with "el Gordo" days before the basket draw.
Bittersweet comedy in a traditional style and a simple plot whose social background , despite its obvious acrimony , is treated with soft touches of humor that makes it endearing. The script has an undoubted sympathy - also its joke - and there are several stories all around , it is developed with freshness , and attractiveness enough with that narrative candor that is so charming when formal naivety and conceptual naturalness deliberately go hand in hand . The story takes place in a rural environment , a little village with full of popular psychology in which Antonio Garisa plays the main role , providing an in-depth master lesson in the interpretation of his peculiar character . That's why here stands out the great Antonio Garisa as a proud and avaricious man who attempts to get all lottery tickets and he won't stop at nothing to get them and at whatever means . Along with a very good support cast , such as : Lina Morgan at one of her first roles , Perla Cristal , Antonio Jiménez Escribano , Rafael Durán , Beny Deus , Rafael Hernandez , Antonio Vico and special mention for Julia Calba Alba in his usual role as a servant and Francisco Camoiras as the retarded man who wants to gets the basket at whatever cost . Francisco Camoiras was an expert in making short but very human roles that easily won the viewer to be reflected in their actions.
The motion picture was well directed by Rafael J. Salvia , he was born in 1915 in Tortosa, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain and died in Madrid 1976. Rafael was a prolific writer and director, being especially known for ¨Las chicas de la Cruz Roja¨ (1958), ¨La gran familia¨ (1962) and ¨El Judas¨ (1952) . Salvia wrote and shot a lot of films with penchant for comedies . As he wrote and directed various flicks , as two successful pictures starred by Manolo Morán : ¨Manolo, guardia urbano¨ and ¨¡ Aquí hay petróleo ¡¨ . Rating : 6.5/10 . Above average , exclusively for Spanish comedy fans . The years do not weigh on this good-natured comedy but rather increase his value as an important work.
