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52 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love is more important than honor in Grandfather., August 31, 2001
It was only by accident that I happened to see this fine film. It did not take long for me to realize my good fortune. An elderly Spanish count wants to determine which of two young sisters is his legitimate grandchild. Both of the girls are beautiful and talented and love and care for their grandfather, who is a kind of modern day Don Quixote. He is a hard man to deal with and makes life difficult for family and friends; rightfully so, I might add. The Count values honor above all and this leads him astray as he tries to discover which of the girls has his blood. We are as much in the dark about this problem as the Count and we watch closely as he observes the girls and forms his opinion. Both the viewer and the Count learn that love is more important and powerful than honor in the powerful conclusion to this film. All the loose ends, and there are many of them, come together in a moving and satisfying conclusion. The discovery of the Counts true grandchild is the mystery at the heart of Grandfather, but many other subplots make this a very long film to watch. Even so, the acting is so good and the story so compelling that I was sorry when the film finally ended. This movie deserves a wider audience and I hope this review serves that end.
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26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gorgeous Film Captures Human Quirks and depths of love, January 12, 2005
I'm 23. I like electronica, movies with killer special effects, and far out theories on quantum mechanics. This movie is a placid drama that follows the lives of a group of eccentric family members and their immediate friends across the Spanish Countryside.
How could I like this film? Allow me to explain.
Without telling you too much about the film in specifics, it's a tale of beautiful foreign influences on family, morality, psychological healing, and the human presence of compassion. It's as far removed from an American Daytime soap as possible.
The music in the film compliments the breathtaking Spanish countryside in a quaintly eclectic fashion. Two recurring aural themes are Erik Satie's Gymnopedie and Edward Elgar's Nimrod.
The protagonist, an aging man who enters into the lives of his two granddaughters as they undergo the uprooting form their country home, is a man filled with wisdom and simultaneously passion and ferocity. He interacts with youth in a most refreshing fashion, embracing the slipping of emotion reason in his mind, yet holding onto the wisdom years under the sun has taught him.
Plenty of scandal, plenty of plot twist and tasty trajectory, I wouldn't say it keeps you on the edge of your seat, but certainly washes you with beautiful countryside, delicate and effusive music, and brilliant psychology and dialogue between characters. In some ways it reminds me of the playful interplay between Dostoyevsky's characters in Brother's Karamazov.
There's a great showdown with monks, and town buffoons, and a great friendship is formed between the grandfather and his granddaughters' educational mentor. I laughed, almost cried during this film, and sincerely felt satisfied after the deep, meaningful moral ending.
Highly Recommended.
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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A True Gem, December 17, 2001
This film is a masterpeice of Spanish Literature made into film. With classic themes of Love, honor, family and pride this film is one everyone can relate to on some level. In addition the use of light in this film will take your breathe away. It is so vivid as to be like another actor in the scenes. I rented this film with little thought and came away astounded. Now I own it. So if you can watch one movie without a car chase or an explosion you ought to make it this one! What a gem!
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