iandedobbeleer

Eran Kolirin is a name to watch out for. This film maker is simply brilliant. In the band's visit he tells a quite simple story, but not without pulling a trick here and there and believe me, he's not a one trick pony. Actor performances are subdued and very truthful making the movie a story of unpersued dreams that goes straight to the heart. It's warm melancholy mood never gets heavy or painful cause it's countered so wittily with scenes that make you smile from ear to ear. To top it all off there's well chosen music, honest photography and clever camera direction. The Band's visit tells of a classic mix-up, but without ever being cheap.

Ciudad en Celo is one of the worst movies I've seen in the last years. It's wanting to be 'a weaving of stories about young people struggling with the hardship of getting older and the need to evaluate past life and love' never succeeds in being interesting. The main characters are flat and badly directed, the side characters plain ridiculous; the homeless woman for instance is nothing more than a characterization of stereotypes without any form of content or personality. Furthermore actors never play together. Story lines are highly cliché and almost none of them is worked out properly. A lot of what's happening gives reason to bring across emotion, yet the acting fails to reach the viewer. It's all just a hopeless attempt at making a movie. Only one role, the role of Duke, played by Claudio Rissi, stands out and manages to captivate. His heartfelt performance however contrasted sharply to everything else in this film.