Customer Reviews

La Tregua

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Apparently Uruguayan writer Mario Benedetti produced a fine novel by the name of LA TREGUA and the story was so popular that Alfonso Rosas Priego adapted it, rather weakly, into this Mexican film, TREGUA ("The Truce"). Despite many exasperatingly poor aspects (not the least of which is the overpowering ever-present tawdry musical score by Amparo Rubin, a soupy mix of piano, voices and innumerable electronic keyboards) there are some redeeming factors that make watching this little film worthwhile.

The story? Martin Santome (Gonzalo Vega) is a widower turning 60, approaching retirement with some dread as his home life is fraught with discontent: he is bored, has no interest in socializing, and lives with his three children - plain-Jane Blanca (Maite Embil), haughty and obnoxious Esteban (Arath de la Torre, and closeted gay Jaime (Rodrigo Vidal). Just when his life is at its lowest point Martin encounters Laura (Adriana Fonseca), a beautiful 24-year-old woman with secrets of her own, who has just started to work in his office. Despite all the social attitudes against it, Martin softens and falls in love with the incandescent Laura, making a truce with his feeling that love has abandoned him in favor of old age. The reaction of his family is mixed but eventually each of his children make their own transformations and Martin and Laura plan to marry. A tragedy ensues and the promises of Martin's truce are altered and it is the way this change affects Martin's life and family that draws this story to a close.

The work of Gonzalo Vega and Adriana Fonseca and Maite Embil make this disjointed, raggle taggle jumble of a movie worth watching. They make us believe in the unbelievable. The director tells his tale through fragmentary scenes poorly held together by bad editing, and with excessively drawn out lovemaking scenes between Martin and Laura that move this story into the 'novella' category of TV soap opera. The movie is in Spanish with poorly translated English subtitles. The underlying story about May-December romances is worth telling and the actors try to make it work with dignity. The trappings get in their way. Grady Harp, January 2005

This is the classic love story of older guy falls in love with a young babe, who of course falls in love with him. The story is interesting enough and sufficiently plausible to make it enjoyable to watch, particularly since Adriana Fonseca is not bashfull at all about showing off her beautiful body. Any movie showing that much of Adriana gets three stars right off the bat from me. The only part of the movie I did not like is the ending. She dies suddenly for no apparent reason except to make the title of the movie make sense.

I like this picture. This is not the best mexican picture, is a barely a good one, but I enjoy it. Ariana Fonseca have a very beautiful face and can kill you with her beautiful eyes. The history of Mario Benedetti is dramatic. And the actors and the history in general terms are not very good directed. But the picture never boring me.

I think this is a wonderfully adapted movie from the book "La Tregua" (The truce) by Mario Benedetti, filmed in Veracruz, a mexican port. Unlike other movie adaptations,I would recommend reading the book first, so you can have a better appreciation of how the story is told in the film. Still, it's a very romantic story with a tragic end, and the music just puts you in the mood.

I am still waiting to receive this movie, it is over a month now and I have no response from sender