7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good coming of age Spanish film..., July 27, 2008
Even though this film is over 10 years old and now just coming to R1 DVD, the story still rings through as a timeless coming of age story. Three of the primary actors have since moved on to illustrious Spanish film careers, so if anything, this piece provides a solid "where they got started" flashback.
The story revolves around three teen boys living in a barrio/neighborhood of Madrid. Their backgrounds, complicated/dysfunctional families, and yearnings for becoming men are all covered adequately, but I would have to say the strength of this film is the brutally honest script. Imagine Stand By Me dialogue (which I love), except on an rated R level - the whole movie. Their conversations about women, sex, life, dreams, etc. are all at the same time heartfelt, delusional, and hormone infested - but believable. The performances of these boys showing their lives in this barrio are solid. They manage to convey their humorous lines just right and make for some laughable moments.
The film is simply a few days in their summer lives as they try to get girls, earn money and figure out their lives. I have some teen customers that like to read subs and to see something about their age group, so this will be the recommendation. If it were rated, it would be R for sexual dialogue and themes, but their is nothing graphic shown. The DVD is unfortunately full screen and has no special features.
EDIT: Forgot to mention - excellent music throughout, nice mix of offerings - including modern dance, ethnic string plays, etc.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
good directing, corny story, February 23, 2012
Caught under the weight of poverty and destined to a life of misery and crime and blah blah blah.
There should be an actual genre called "somebody's-gonna-get-shot-by-the-police."
But I have to give the director some credit for the vivid looks at the slums of Madrid. Interesting.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Great look at the underside of Madrid, June 3, 2011
This is a Madrid the tourists never see: gritty, poor, dirty, desperate. Three young teens wander aimlessly, chatting about sex, crimes, money, and more sex. They don't know what to do with themselves. Their families are dysfunctional, and they are, too. The dialogue is crisp and funny. There is no plot. The score is modern and works well with the imagery. There's a little violence, but not much. The ending is a little unsatisfying, but like the film, there's not much reason for it. Well worth watching.
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