Engaging, bittersweet and frequently laugh out loud funny, this is an enjoyable Spanish drama with strong performances and a subtle but effective message.
Comment
06/19/07
DarkBlueAlmostBlack (2007)
69 %
Reviews Counted: 16 Fresh: 11 Rotten:5 Average Rating: 6.4/10
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Synopsis: When his father suffers a debilitating stroke, Jorge is forced to put his life and career on hold. He takes over his father`s janitorial position, cares for his father and studies at night. His life is further complicated by romantic entanglements with women. Meanwhile, Jorge`s best friend... [More]
Genre: Foreign Films
Starring: Quim Gutiérrez, Marta Etura, Antonio de la torre, Héctor Colomé, Raúl Arévalo
Reviews
1 - 17 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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04/03/08
The actors form an appealing ensemble, bringing a warmth and appeal that make the film more compelling than its familiar themes might normally merit.
11/17/07
The plot of Spanish director Daniel Sanchez Arevalo's well-acted feature debut is the kind that his countryman Pedro Almodovar would imbue with bold colors, acid humor and perhaps a headstrong transvestite.
11/16/07
Daniel Sanchez Arevalo makes an impressive feature debut with this thoughtful, mordantly funny, deeply human film.
10/23/07
Director Daniel Sanchez Arévalo would have done well leaving a few subplots on the cutting-room floor. Quality almost always is better than quantity.
10/19/07
Bifurcated images, isolating the characters from their dreams and from one another, create a yearning atmosphere that pulls you in; like their director, you really want them to escape.
10/19/07
Top Critic
Tells [a] ludicrously compact, aggressively 'heartfelt,' colorfully contrived story.
10/16/07
It's a well-acted soap with one too many plot lines, tied together by genteel audio-visual sutures and supported by the brittle metaphor of its title.
10/14/07
This slice of quirky life story about a classy, unattainable suit in a store window, is one classy movie as well, ennobling its host of eccentric and tragic, yet determined and struggling, vividly realized characters.
10/10/07
What could have seemed insufferably self-pitying becomes strangely moving instead -- a sign of a filmmaker placing his absolute trust in their material and coming up all the stronger for it.
03/08/07
There's an impressive, careful complexity to DarkBlueAlmostBlack that belies the inexperience of first-time director Daniel Sánchez Arévalo.
09/23/06
Sanchez Arevalo is a worthwhile addition to the growing ranks of providers of solid and entertaining stories taken from life, as seen through a melodramatic prism.
09/15/06
Writer/director Aravalo and a fine cast tell the story with great charm.
09/13/06
Top Critic1 - 17 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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