Film review: 'The Good Life'
There seems no doubt that talent can run in a family. This is the feature debut of David Trueba, younger brother of well-known Spanish director Fernando Trueba ("Belle Epoque"), and an auspicious debut it is.
A low-key charmer filled with humanity, "The Good Life" (La Buena Vida) reveals a talent on the rise. Though a bit too slight for significant domestic theatrical release, it should establish the director-screenwriter's reputation on the festival circuit. Previously shown at Cannes, it was showcased recently at the Miami Film Festival.
A coming-of-age tale that displays a firm grasp of the adolescent psyche, "The Good Life" concerns the shifting fortunes of 14-year-old Tristan Romeo (Fernando Ramallo), who is determined to be a writer. So determined is he, in fact, that he has already started his autobiography.
Tristan enjoys a comfortable teenage existence. He attends a private, all-boys school, and he enjoys the support of his loving parents. Unfortunately, his world quickly turns upside down. His parents are killed while on vacation, and Tristan is forced to fend not only for himself but also for his brain-addled grandfather (the hilarious Luis Cuenca), who has not bathed in years.
While trying to survive, Tristan doesn't neglect the other important aspect of adolescence -- girls. He develops a crush on his older cousin, who unfortunately is involved with an older man. Tristan also tries to hire a prostitute, with less-than-felicitous results; she does, however, become the housekeeper for Tristan and his grandfather.
Director Trueba is less concerned with realistic plotting than with acute observations about the pleasures and turmoils of adolescence. His film, which deftly juggles comedy, pathos and whimsical fantasy, is both novelistic in its details and characterizations and cinematic in its visual flourishes. The film's coda, in which Tristan and his past and present family fly over the streets of Paris, is magical.
Adding greatly to the film's power is the superb performance of newcomer Ramallo, who manages to convey age-old wisdom as well as eagerness to experience life. He is the rare teenage performer who will appeal to adults as much as children, and his mixture of toughness and vulnerability is thoroughly winning.
THE GOOD LIFE (La Buena Vida)
Fernando Trueba PC, SA; Kaplan SA;
Olmos Films SL; LFilms & Academy Films
Director-screenplay David Trueba
Producers Ana Huete, Cristina Huete
Director of photography William Lubtchansky
Music Antoine Duhamel
Editor Angel Hernandez Zoido
Color/stereo
Cast:
Tristan Fernando Ramallo
Lucia Lucia Jimenez
Grandfather Luis Cuenca
Isabel Isabel Otero
Claudio Joel Joan
Mother Vicky Pena
Father Jordi Bosch
Running time -- 108 min.
No MPAA rating...
A low-key charmer filled with humanity, "The Good Life" (La Buena Vida) reveals a talent on the rise. Though a bit too slight for significant domestic theatrical release, it should establish the director-screenwriter's reputation on the festival circuit. Previously shown at Cannes, it was showcased recently at the Miami Film Festival.
A coming-of-age tale that displays a firm grasp of the adolescent psyche, "The Good Life" concerns the shifting fortunes of 14-year-old Tristan Romeo (Fernando Ramallo), who is determined to be a writer. So determined is he, in fact, that he has already started his autobiography.
Tristan enjoys a comfortable teenage existence. He attends a private, all-boys school, and he enjoys the support of his loving parents. Unfortunately, his world quickly turns upside down. His parents are killed while on vacation, and Tristan is forced to fend not only for himself but also for his brain-addled grandfather (the hilarious Luis Cuenca), who has not bathed in years.
While trying to survive, Tristan doesn't neglect the other important aspect of adolescence -- girls. He develops a crush on his older cousin, who unfortunately is involved with an older man. Tristan also tries to hire a prostitute, with less-than-felicitous results; she does, however, become the housekeeper for Tristan and his grandfather.
Director Trueba is less concerned with realistic plotting than with acute observations about the pleasures and turmoils of adolescence. His film, which deftly juggles comedy, pathos and whimsical fantasy, is both novelistic in its details and characterizations and cinematic in its visual flourishes. The film's coda, in which Tristan and his past and present family fly over the streets of Paris, is magical.
Adding greatly to the film's power is the superb performance of newcomer Ramallo, who manages to convey age-old wisdom as well as eagerness to experience life. He is the rare teenage performer who will appeal to adults as much as children, and his mixture of toughness and vulnerability is thoroughly winning.
THE GOOD LIFE (La Buena Vida)
Fernando Trueba PC, SA; Kaplan SA;
Olmos Films SL; LFilms & Academy Films
Director-screenplay David Trueba
Producers Ana Huete, Cristina Huete
Director of photography William Lubtchansky
Music Antoine Duhamel
Editor Angel Hernandez Zoido
Color/stereo
Cast:
Tristan Fernando Ramallo
Lucia Lucia Jimenez
Grandfather Luis Cuenca
Isabel Isabel Otero
Claudio Joel Joan
Mother Vicky Pena
Father Jordi Bosch
Running time -- 108 min.
No MPAA rating...
- 2/23/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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