Customer Reviews

The Nest (1980, aka El Nido)

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This is a difficult movie to like because the depiction of a 60 year old man pursuing a 13 year old girl is so problematic. Alejando is the local aristocrat - intellectual and lonely - after the death of his wife. He finds a series of mysterious notes about birds along the river and discovers that they are being written by a precocious teenage girl/woman. This 13 year old - Goyita - is also deeply lonely since her friends and family cannot appreciate her intelligence and rebelliousness.

Goyita's youth and energy invigorate Alejandro; he feels more alive than he has ever been. While he tries to maintain a platonic relationship with Goyita, she is pushing him to love her as a woman, not a girl. Eventually, the relationship ends in tragedy as Alejandro loses all sense of perspective and desire for life when Gojita is "forced" to leave the village.

The two main protaganists give very senstive performances.

It results more than incredible , original , haunting and poignant film still has not transfered to DVD .
Not only becasue this film was nominated as Best Foreign Film in 1980 , but also for its multiple and intersting secondary lines .
Alejandro is a man who lives his golden age . He is a lonely man , since he is widow and a true aristos . He loves the music - specially Haendel (The Messiah) and lives for himself inmersed in his memories .
But someday this peaceful will become in a real enigma when he receives a serie of enigmatic clues in strange mesages alusive to birds . (La pluma del gorrión te llevará al gran cañon.).
So in this challenging puzzle and serach game he gets involved in a strange realtionship with a surprising and mature teenager : Goyita a twelve years old girl , gifted with a strong personality and fierce inteligence .
Slowly he will fall in love with her and both of them will be the most important silent voice comment of the town . You know; there is an old latin statement : "Little town ; big hell " .
But remember this : in every relationship , the domain is of who loves less .
Goyita will imposse to Alejandro such horrible thngs as to burn the clothes of his dead wife . She will forbidde him not leaving her never more in a weird blood commitment .
They enjoy riding horses, enjoying the life ; he appears as Pygmalion for her ; and she is making the rehearsal of : Lady Macbeth , curiosuly .
Watch this memorable and hidden treasure of the spanish cinema.
I must confess , my dear reader , I watch this movie once by year with new friends and the interesting discussions around the film are absolutely outstanding .
Try to get this movie . This film will catch your soul for ever .
Hector Alterio as Alejandro and Ana Torrent (The same crew girl of Cria Cuervis of Carlos Saura) as Goyita are splendid in this captivating and fascinating film .