Seres queridos

I had the opportunity to see a preview of this movie (to be entitled "Only Human" for English-speaking audiences).

A genuinely funny take on a very real situation: Spanish Jewish neurotic girl who is a TV presenter in Madrid brings home her Palistinian lecturer boyfriend to meet her dysfunctional family.

Her sister is a nymphomaniac belly-dancer who lives at home with her five year old contrary daughter, younger brother (who is going through a faux ultra-orthodox stage), blind grandfather, pre-menopausal mother and a duckling!

The farcical plot (such as it is) revolves around some frozen soup, belly-dancing, Jewish-Islamic shiboleths and all the fun you can pack into 96 minutes!

It's cleverly plotted, extremely convincingly acted, neatly directly and very reminiscent of Pedro Almodavar - on acid! I fell off my chair laughing.

The use of klezmer-meets-belly-dancing music by Charlie Mole is a masterstroke of scoring.

Sure to be a great word of mouth hit, much as "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" eventually became.

I knew nothing about this film, and 'Spanish comedy' was not a genre I was familiar with or had particular expectations of. But this turned out to be the funniest thing I have seen for a long time. It has pure farce, played with impeccable timing, with such unlikely props as a tub of frozen soup and a duckling. It has wild satire both of religious fundamentalism and of amoral sexual behaviour and several other things in between. It centres on the relationship between a Jewish woman and a Palestinian man, and although it casts no profound light on their situation, it manages to portray them without excessive stereotyping and to include one quick fire debate which contains a potted history of the entire conflict without losing comic momentum. Yet it leaves all the characters with some shreds of human dignity, in spite of their farcical characteristics.

"Seres queridos" is a very good comedy that mixes the necessary ingredients: love, humor, misunderstandings and a little mystery. The basic plot (Jewish girl and Palestinian boy go to girl's home to meet her family) soon turns to quirkier subplots that make the viewer not only amused, but also intrigued and moved.

Directors Pelegri and Harari have assembled a great cast, starting from leading man Guillermo Toledo to supporting players such as María Botto and Fernando Ramallo. Toledo had previously proved his ability as a comedian, but this time he proves he can carry a movie too. Botto is unforgettable as the belly-dancer sister, and her dance scene in a meeting room will surely the most remembered for years to come.

Although it partially deals with the tragic conflict between the Jewish and Palestinians in Israel, this sweet comedy gives the viewer the impression that such conflicts can be solved with the help of love, which is quite a relief. However, the eventual result of "Seres queridos" is that it lacks a little more wit so as to be really great, but it still remains as a very good watch.

Overall rating: 7/10

Rafi and Lina are in love and she is gonna show him to her family. The main problem is that she is Jew while Rafi is Palestinian. While Lina's mother is trying to digest the notice, Rafi accidentally throws a frozen soap through the window and hits a man that seems to be Lina's father. This, mixed with a fanatic brother, a crazy grandparent, a nymphomaniac sister and all the family as eccentric as this will cause endless comic situations. It is not precisely a masterpiece, but it is terribly funny. It's the proof that in Spain it is possible to make good comedies not related to sex, and, being a little film, it is surprisingly funny.

I went to see this with very limited expectations as I had not read many reviews but I have to say I really enjoyed it. Its slight zaniness is recognisably Spanish while there were also elements of typically Jewish humour. Some of the set pieces in the film are laugh at loud funny, while the characters are superb - in particular the ex-Israeli army granddad, the ultra religious but very confused son and the nymphomaniac daughter. This is a family with real problems and the comedy is often tinged with sadness. In an albeit short argument at the end between the Jewish daughter and her Palestinian boyfriend the Middle East debate is given a very vocal hearing, and while this film does not attempt to delve into the subject too deeply, it is an amusing, feel-good take on family relationships and Jewish-Arab relations.