El sudor de los ruiseñores

This is a story of empty promises and broken dreams. Writer-director Juan Manuel Cotelo has brought together all the necessary elements for an entertaining story. Imai (Alexandru Agarici) a naive Rumanian cello player sets out for Madrid where he believes Jobs are plentiful and the money good. There he meets Toto (Carlos Ysbert) a perpetual optimist and puppeteer and Goyita (Maria de Medeiros) who provides cheap accommodation in a run-down hotel. The dialogue between Imai and Goyita is like nothing I've seen or heard before. She has an outstanding presence and is truly delightful. The boisterous Toto who believes you should accept everyone as they are lifts every scene with his good-natured exuberance. I like particularly the scene in the subway where Imai and Toto are confronted by four threatening larrikins and how Toto handles the situation. Toto thinks big and in a toy-shop he steals a life-sized bear for Imai's little 2-year old. I liked the way Agarici plays Imai as the somewhat withdrawn, honest, sincere, religious character who demands so little from life. The seduction scene in which Goyita tries to seduce Imai puts him to the test of fidelity. Some beautiful music is interwoven with the scenes together with great cello pieces rendered in the street entertainment. The film scores high marks from me because of the delicate handling of the characters. The whole film has a quiet charm. It was the title of the film that really tempted me to watch it and I discovered that "dew is the sweat of the nightingale exhausted from singing all night".