User reviews

It is so sad to see a movie that represents both the best of Colombian actors (Julian Roman-Vicky Hernandez) and also the worst (Juana -juanita- Acosta). It's perfectly clear since the beginning of the movie that perhaps Juana demanded her role to be expanded and almost take center stage on the movie to ruin what could have been a well-laid-out story.

Is this a love story of her mom and son like in the book? ...or a North- Americanized courtroom drama?. In Colombia, justice is not imparted through halls of justice and courtrooms with hammer and robe judges; leave that to the north countries of the globe. In Colombia, cases are mostly handled in closed offices, but because every movie that comes out of Colombia has to be liked by the entire planet now, we have to North- Americanize everything and be "formulaic". Take into account that the setting for this movie was 2007, when the reality was very different for themes like: euthanasia, homosexualality and for the non-existant at the time little female bratty kids who play soccer in movies.

What saves the movie is the acting of a wonderful, evolved actor like Julian Román (buena mijo! Muy buena) and the wonderful and never compared Vicky Hernandez. What a show would have been if the director had centered the story on these characters and their families, the brother, the caretaker... it would have elevated this movie to a glorious category with rich full of character development. But Juanita had to step in and ruin the movie for everyone so she can triumph outside Colombia. It is also shameful that the author of the book endorsed this movie by saying he would not change a thing. Very sad.

If anyone should be mad, it should be him for seeing how his book was turned into a mashup of North American formulas and the desires of an untalented self-proclaimed producer/actress. In summon, you get for about 2 to 5 minutes of good scenes with 10-20 minutes of cringe-worthy, dissapointing direction.

PD: I loved the actor who played the first lawyer; that guy was great. I was sad to not see more of him in the movie; he would have been a great character too. Kudos on the acting. And thank you Juanita for ruining another movie. It's a shame to waste the talents of good actors.

I find the way the first review here speaks about Juana Acosta to be very dismissive. Although Juana started in Colombia more than 25 years ago, she has built her acting career in Spain. She has come so far that she has earned a Goya nomination for Best Supporting Actress with the movie "El Inconveniente" from Bernabé Rico. Her capacity for evolution awakens all my admiration. Regarding this film, I agree that Román's character contrasts sharply with the stiffness of an American style trial, what makes his performance shine even more. Interesting topic rarely addressed in Latin American cinema.