Marcelino Pan y Vino follows a little boy who is left on the doorstep of a monastery and raised by monks.
Some of the story elements were kind of cool. Specifically towards the end there were some good plot points. There were, however, some really stupid plot elements too, particularly towards the end. While there are good aspects, there are aspects that were just dumb, placed in the movie to extend the run time and add some level of tension to the film.
However, the movie's ability to keep the audience invested dies by the last twenty to thirty minutes, which is also when the best parts of the movie get introduced. When we're supposed to feel tension, instead I felt bored. I could have easily fallen asleep by that time.
But even beyond the stupid plot points and dull pacing therein lies the greatest flaw, the casting of Mark Hernández Mosqueda aka Marcelino. He's absolutely terrible. It's like someone off-screen is holding the script out to him and he's just reading off of it. He can't act at all, despite being the main character. You'd think more effort would be put into the casting of the main protagonist, but I guess not. Yes, he's a child actor, but that's no excuse to shrug it off. There're plenty of good child performers, there just needs to be some work put into finding them.
Overall Marcelino Pan y Vino is pretty bad. While some plot points work, others really don't. Meanwhile it struggles with pacing and a lead performer who can't perform. In the end I wouldn't recommend this movie.
