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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ensemble Filmmaking at its Finest, November 9, 2006
This review is from: Martin (Hache) (DVD)
Adolfo Aristarain is one of those rare filmmakers who defines his own world in cinema by writing and directing terrific stories with brilliant dialogue and using a familiar cadre of actors who give the finished product an ensemble effort. He is one of Argentina's finest artists and couples frequently with writer Kathy Saavedra (Roma, Un lugar en el mundo, Lugares communes, Martín (Hache), etc) and elects to use the extraordinary actors from Argentina such as Federico Luppi. Cecilia Roth, Juan Diego Botta and Eusebio Poncela. The results are stunning motion pictures that while addressing the intellect of the audience never fail to entertain as well.
'Martín (Hache)' is just such a film. With a challenging and wise script and a cadre of fine actors in every role Aristarain has created a poignant, philosophical and superlative character study about people and their need for relating in the world as we have altered it today. Martín (the brilliant Federico Luppi) is a wealthy writer who left his family in Buenos Aires five years ago to live and work in Madrid. He has a nineteen year old son Hache (Juan Diego Botta) - Hache is the Spanish pronunciation for the alphabet letter 'J' and since the son's name is Martin J. he elects to be called J or Hache - who is a restless, foundationless teenager who refuses to go to school preferring to simply play his electric guitar and run with the drug crowd. His mother has remarried and has a new baby and Hache is feeling like a third wheel. He accidentally overdoses on alcohol and drugs during a performance, collapses, and his mother notifies Martín that Hache has attempted suicide to induce Martín to return to Buenos Aires and take back his son Hache. Hache of course recovers and his mother insists that Hache is in the way and that he must go to Madrid to live with Martín: Martín begrudgingly agrees.
In Madrid, Martín has been living the life of a recluse whose only contacts are his squeeze Alicia (Cecilia Roth, an actress of limitless talent), who escapes her life by an addiction to coke but loves Martín, and his best friend the bisexual actor Dante (Eusebio Poncela) who is an Epicurean living all aspects of life for the pleasures he finds. Once Hache has moved in with his distant, cold, sullen father he falls under the influence of Alicia and Dante who adore him and attempt to show him a life of sunshine in Madrid while Martín sequesters himself in his writing. How this unlikely quartet interacts, bouncing the Apollonian against the Dionysian poles of living forms the basis for the story. Hache grows to understand the spectrum of worldviews, a tragedy occurs, and the ongoing silent duel between the father and the son comes to a touching resolution.
Hearing and watching this quartet of brilliant actors is not unlike attending a performance of a fine string quartet. Aristarain keeps the long film (two hours +) moving in such a beautifully liquid flow that the story seems to take moments. But the moments are all treasures, the result of the ensemble of writing, directing, and acting. 'Martín (Hache)' is simply a brilliant film. In Spanish with English subtitles. Grady Harp, November 06
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Movie. Amazing Dialogues. Unforgetable., February 4, 2008
This review is from: Martin (Hache) (DVD)
As the previous reviews have stated, the movie is mainly about the relationship between a father and a son, but what will really blow you away is the dialogue, carried mostly by the Dante (Eusebio Poncella) character, it might be shocking that the sane person in this movie is the gay "libertine" drug user, but that's part of the (hidden?) charm and message Aristarain tries to transmit.
Unfortunately though, non-spanish speaking viewers will have to cope with the usual translation problems that unfortunately take away at least 1/3 of the dialogue and half of the richness of the movie in part due to the fast pace the interactions have which I guess made them cut a lot of dialogue and resume some. But all in all, this is a great movie that you should not miss, performances are brilliant, specially Eusebio Poncella as Dante and Cecilia Roth as Alicia.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A modern drama of being, April 12, 2011
This review is from: Martin (Hache) (DVD)
As usual for movies in non-English, a reviewer feels this work context has been lost in translation, leaving a non-Spanish audience with her own clues and guesses, rather than a strong impression of a filmmaker's intent screened.
Bowling for a social pressure, talented writer Martin had left native Argentine for Madrid, Spain, a centre of Spanish-speaking world as much as Hollywood of Los Angeles is a centre of the universe for artistic talents, of Anglo-Saxony linguistics definitely.
However, an acclaimed author's deeply hidden problem is his sexuality, of which bi-elements are clear not only to ex-wife left behind with beloved son Martin Jr.-J. in Spanish "Hache"- and his soul (and more physical, as much explicitly hinted) mate - a same-gender-attracted time-life friend-performer surely.
Grown up in such vogue environment, a nineteen year old son looks much more macho than even Latino teens do, attracted to drugs, alcohol and hard rock mostly as money is not an issue for him at all in then impoverished Argentina.
This complex story is of b o t h comparing the older generation life options, "closet" and openly heralded hedonistic, a n d getting a truth about the Old Man, which to affect vital decisions by young Martin Jr. The Hache to step out from a shadow of father's wings-but will he in a reality?
A cleaver, professional, well-performed modern drama.
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