Product Details

• Actors: Ricardo Darin, Norma Aleandro
• Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, French
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click here.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: September 10, 2002
• Run Time: 123 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00006BS7S
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,344 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Son of the Bride" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This magnificent Argentinean film centers on Rafael (Ricardo Darín), a restaurateur whose life is becoming a knot of stress and failing relationships. When his father, Nino (Héctor Alterio), decides that after 44 years of marriage he wants to give his wife, Norma (Norma Aleandro), the church wedding she always wanted, Rafael scoffs; Norma has advanced Alzheimer's and doesn't recognize where she is or who's around her. After Rafael has a heart attack, he realizes he has to change his life--but when he makes changes, he discovers how much of his life he'd been taking for granted, and that he may have cast aside the very things he seeks. Son of the Bride is smartly and richly written, directed with generosity and precision, and full of astonishingly full performances. The story's full of clever touches, but it never lets cleverness overwhelm humanity. Simply a superb movie. --Bret Fetzer

From the Back Cover

"Son of the Bride" is a heartwarming story of love and the appreciation of life. This award-winning Argentine feature was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and stars Ricardo Darin ("Nine Queens," "The Stranger"), Hector Alterio ("Burnt Money," "The Official Story") and Norma Aleandro ("Cousins," "Vital Signs"). Rafeal's whole life is put into perspective when a series of unexpected events happen that make him re-evaluate his life. With the help of a childhood friend, he is able to restructure his past and appreciate life's little details.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most life affirming films of the past decade, September 12, 2002

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Son of the Bride (DVD)

There are not enough positive adjectives to adequately describe the impact of this beautiful little film from Argentina. The writer and director have created a universal story about the place to which we've come as a society in the 21st Century. The alienation of the individual whether by self induced means of over-reaching in career achievement, by the problem of the senior citizens groping for a place in this fast paced, youth oriented world, or by the 'new' diseases such as Alzheimers - all are put into his story, stirred with love and intellect, and the result is a feast for the soul and the heart. Ricardo Darin subtly progresses from a divorced, distant father completely absorbed by a restaurant business he inherited and has only submerged himself in because of his need to at some point please his mother. Hector Alterio is his father who remains at the side of his Alzheimer wife (incredibly portrayed by the immensely gifted Norma Aleandro), seeking only to grant her 'forgotten' wish of a true wedding. The simplicity of this gesture of love alters the lives of all characters. After a stay in the ICU following a myocardial infarction, the son (Darin) finds his way back to the meaning of love, of family, of changing the focus of his life. This story may sound banal as stated, but with a cast of main and supporting actors of this quality, I doubt there will be a dry eye in the room when you gift yourself with this film. A little masterpiece.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A story about what is important in life..., May 22, 2005

By 

M. B. Alcat "Curiosity killed the cat, but sa... (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Son of the Bride (DVD)

"Son of the Bride" is a story about family, love, and what is really important in life. It takes place in Argentina, during its 2001 economic crisis, but I think that everybody can relate to the subject it tackles, disregarding the place where one lives.

The main character is Rafael (Ricardo Darín), a self-absorbed man in his forties who runs a prestigious Italian restaurant, "Belvedere". Rafael is separated, and has a daughter he often forgets to pick up due to his numerous responsibilities. Rafael also has a beautiful girlfriend, Naty (Natalia Verbeke), but doesn't pay her enough attention, so their relationship starts to go to the dogs.

Rafael's relationship with Nino (Héctor Alterio), his father, is good, but he hasn't seen her mother Norma (Norma Aleandro) in a year. He had a huge argument with her after dropping out of university, and they stopped talking to each other. Some time after that, his mother got Alzheimer's disease, an illness that made her forgetful and disoriented. As a result of all this, they never really manage to patch things up.

Truth to be told, Rafael doesn't seem to mind. His entire life is his job, and he is content. That is, until he has a heart attack, something that leads him to revaluate his priorities, and to see things from another perspective. An excellent example is that while before he was against his father's idea of marrying Norma in a church (in a belated religious wedding after 44 years of being married), he ends up helping him to do exactly that. In a way, he realizes that even though Norma won't be aware of what exactly is happening, his parents would be doing something terribly important to them.

But will Rafael be able to change his life after making such a tremendous mess out of things?. What is more, will he learn the real meaning of the word "family"?. Watch "Son of the bride", and learn all that, and more. On the whole, highly recommended !!!

Belen Alcat

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Humble comeuppance that reaches for the sky, June 12, 2004

By 

Peggy Vincent "author and reader" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Son of the Bride (DVD)

What a wonderful film! Rafael, stressed and overworked, is rapidly screwing up all the important relationships in his life. He's already divorced, is about to lose his lovely girlfriend, nearly stands up his about-10yo daughter, and doesn't understand why his charming father would want a church wedding for his `wife' of 44 years, esp since she's suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
Then he has a heart attack - and goes thru a classic change of life. But in this case, he first makes everything worse before figuring out how to make it all beter.
Incandescent performances by everyone. Really an astonishingly wonderful Argentinean movie almost overflowing with touches of humanity.