Martín (Hache)

Once or twice in a lifetime you watch a movie that strikes you exactly in the moment when you need it, and you feel completely identified with it. That happened to me today when I saw Martín (Hache), commenting on movies is a very subjective thing to do, you can like a movie even if it's a flick just because you needed someone to tell you what the movie is saying in that exact moment. Anyway, that's what this movie is about; reflection and not only for young people also for adults.

This movie has lots of social and political opinions in between lines, it's a perfect mirror of the society we live in but it doesn't give a point of view that's what's great about it!, it keeps itself objective. Like Dante would say about drugs, they make everything relative the only truth is your truth, Post-modernism!, XX Century!, there aren't any more rules to obey, society is rotten and it's a dream to try and change it, so you might as well adapt and enjoy the "good" things about life.

After you see this movie I really hope you question yourself, what is the meaning of "good". Everything is relative, remember?

Wonderful film that sadly was not released in the U.S. Beautifully written and acted character-driven piece about many things, among them the role of a parent in our modern civilization - and the role of the child as well; the relationships between men and women, and the friendships between straight men and gay men; the role of artistic expression in the lives of artists and in the lives of those who will never be artists. The film is also noteworthy for its portrayal of the hypocrisy of adults who impose upon their children "values" that they themselves reject in their day-to-day lives. The gay character is refreshingly unapologetic. And the female lead is heartbreakingly real, a brilliant and deeply moving performance by Cecilia Roth. If you ever get a chance to see this film, I highly recommend it.

19-year-old, Argentina-born Martin (Juan Diego Botto), nicknamed H, has a nearly fatal drug overdose. After that his mother sends him to Madrid, where his film director father (Federico Luppi), also called Martin, lives with his new much younger lover Alicia (Cecilia Roth) and bisexual actor friend Dante (Eusebio Poncela). Since no one knows for sure whether the incident was an accident or an attempted suicide, and since there is no place for Hache in his mother's life anyway, his father takes him to Madrid. The two try to bridge the obvious difficulties between father and son, and above all to fill Hache's life with new courage and cheerfulness.

The quartet of the great actors are wonderful: Juan Diego Botto as Hache, as those who know him call him, he is a young man who, after an almost fatal encounter, comes to Madrid to live with his father, stunningly played by Federico Luppi as a film director who has been in Spain for many years and who left Buenos Aires when he separated from his mother and does not want to return to his previous life or his country. His life is stable and without commitments with his lover Alicia, nicely acted by Cecilia Roth, and his best friend, the actor Dante, a splendid Eusebio Poncela. But his coexistence with his 19-year-old son will force him to face the problems that he had hidden behind a barrier of years. The film makes an introspective study of four characters, although throughout it we may seem somewhat pedantic, people who always have the word on point, philosophizing and giving opinions on everything and all around; however, finally we realize keep in mind that they are all imperfect people with their vital defects and failures in their actions. In such a way that as the film progresses it improves noticeably until reaching a sensitive and intelligent ending.

In "Martín (Hache)", the experienced filmmaker Adolfo Aristarain weaves a film whose plot unfolds above all through intelligently conducted, thought-provoking isssues and profound dialogues. The story focuses on the four protagonists, whose characterization becomes clearer and deeper as the plot progresses. Despite half-hearted attempts to break out of their current lives, they always return to the starting point remorseful. It is thanks to the outstanding acting performance of the actors that boredom does not arise at any moment. On the contrary, the dialogues captivate and fuel the tension until the decisive and unsettling finale. Many feelings are only hinted at, thus giving free rein to the audience's ability to interpret. "Martín (Hache)" has received numerous awards at international festivals, including the 1998 Goya Award for Best Female Actress for the terrific Cecilia Roth.

The motion picture was competently directed by Adolfo Aristaráin, At the same time, the director does not make the mistake of trying to describe everything down to the smallest detail in words. Adolfo has extensive experience as assistant director to Mario Camus, Sergio Leone, Lewis Gilbert and Melvin Frank, debuting as a director in ¨The Lion's Share¨ (1978) but that was a failure that led him to direct two bad films to survive: ¨The Beach of Love (1970)¨ and ¨ The nightclub of love¨. He returns to the detective genre with the attractive ¨Tiempo de revancha (1980) ¨and ¨Los ultimos Días De la Victima (1982) ¨giving a sordid portrait of Argentina during the military dictatorship. Later he made the TV series: ¨The Adventures of Pepe Carvalho¨ in Spain about the notorious detective written by Manuel Vázquez Montalbán. He then films in English in co-production with USA three police irregulars: Deadly¨. The Stranfäger¨, and ¨Past Perfect¨. His best and most personal work is "A Place in the World" (1992), a heartfelt love story seen through the political prism with which he wins the Golden Shell at the San Sebastian Festival. Later, he makes the irregular "La Ley de la Frontera¨ (1995), where he defends the cinema of love and adventure and the much more personal Martin (Hache) in which he narrates the tense relationships between a film director, his lover, his son and an actor. Rating: 6.5/10. Better than average.

Heche (which means letter H) is a nineteen year old boy that nobody wants. After his parents' divorce, his mother's got a new life in Argentina, and there's no place for him. After he survives an 'accident' that is believed by everyone as an attempted suicide, his mother asks his father to take care of him. His father agrees, even if he still does not think he has a place for his son. Only his father's woman and his best friend, an homosexual drug addict, show affection for this boy who is lost and can't find a way to really grow up and become independent.

Being raised in a family of people who flew Argentina before I was born, I was used, kind of, to the heavy Argentinian accent that the actors have, Federico Luppi especially. However, I agree it might be difficult for other Spanish speaking people who are used to a more 'orthodox' Spanish to understand parts of the dialogs, which is a shame. Dialogues are what makes this film so interesting and touching. The things that are said contrast with the things that remained unsaid, and you can only imagine by reading the character's eyes. Alicia, for example, is almost always laughing and having fun, but her eyes are dark, worried. Her happiness is just a mask she wears to avoid realize how much she feels bad about what she is missing for, a real family, with children. She only tells Hache about that, she wishes she were his mother. Hache apparently is resigned to being a nuisance for his parents, but he wants to escape this situation by living alone, even though he's not ready yet. He uses drugs and only his father's best friend manages to keep him away from danger.

The two main actors were great. Federico Luppi's portrayal of a father who is very disappointed for his son's way of life was so real I wanted to kick him! Juan Diego Botto was perfect, too. You could think he was portraying himself. I wonder if it's a pity he lives in Spain and his works are not known across the Atlantic Ocean, nor east of the Pirineos.

At times I felt this film might have been adapted from stage-theatre, so good are the dialogues; scintillating, the right way to speak Spanish – if you will excuse the `porteño' accent so very necessary for the film. The old `maestro' Federico Luppi is about as good as in any other film I have seen him in, I suppose; Juan Diego de Botto is better than in other films of his that I have seen; but the real standing ovation is for Eusebio Ponce who plays very delicately and intelligently the philosophical homosexual, and Cecilia Roth is outstanding as the film-director's girl-friend. Though I must say that I am beginning to get accustomed to Cecilia Roth being outstanding in everything she does.

The direction is right – spot on; tight, befitting the excellent playing out of the dialogues and demanding great skill with the camera and later the person with the scissors. Adolfo Arastarain worked hard for this one: the result is a hugely satisfying piece.

Once again, as erstwhile said elsewhere in IMDb, for those who like real character-driven pieces with intelligent dialogues, this film is highly recommendable. However, for those of you with a fair knowledge of Spanish, if you are not used to the Argentinian (porteño) accent you may well have problems, such that you will need the subtitles. It is worth the effort, I can assure you: just over 8 out of 10, which is pretty high on my scale.