jsjacobsen

A pretty decent little film. The movie examines the relationships of the members of a family in Mexico City that have gathered after the death of the patriarch of the family. The film doesn't focus as much on the deceased as on the family members. The characters and subplots were kept my attention as a whole, particularly the character of the grandson that had returned from Israel. The most interesting part of the film was learning about the customs and rituals of the Jewish faith when someone passes away. Overall a well paced film considering it mainly took place in a couple rooms in a house and unique in that I hadn't seen a Mexican film about the Jewish faith. Well done.

I saw this movie at Sundance and was very impressed. It's a little difficult to explain why this movie was so captivating but I believe it's because it examines a relationship between two individuals who are completely different from the characters typical of many films. The film is not for everyone, its pace was very deliberate and intentionally repetitive at times. There are some uncomfortable scenes basically because of the extreme awkwardness of the two characters and their relationship. The film is full of some very subtle and humorous scenes, sometimes simply due to the facial expressions of the two lead characters. The entire cast, especially the two leads, was excellent. There was even some suspense at the end of the film and a simple line that left you guessing.