The Miracle of P. Tinto

Good film, I loved it.

El Milagro de P.Tinto is a mixture of the slapstick and the sick humour, a sort of "slapsick", if you will. It takes pains not to base the film in reality (which is a good thing: all too often comedy is sacrificed to the god of reality - why? Life appears to be more tragedy than comedy). The visual effects are nicely realised, and the humour leaps out of every frame. If you´re an English-speaker who is learning Spanish, you could do a lot worse than see this film, as the humour is very visual, so it is easy to understand.

But most of the Spanish people I´ve been talking to absolutely hated it. They all say the same thing: that the film is stupid, a silly, pointless film with little to recommend it. The question is: is your local cinema a place for such a film?

The thing is, I came, I saw it, I laughed (a lot), and I left. It was a good way to pass a couple of hours. After all, isn´t that what cinema´s about, entertainment? And P.Tinto certainly entertained. It is a witty, observational view of the world (if a little warped). The cinematography is excellent, and it takes pains to replicate the atmosphere created by other classic films (the opening sequence, set in the psychiatric hospital is a good example, as is the parody of E.T.).

So, come on, Spain - stop worrying about the intellectual impact of the movie and see El Milagro de P.Tinto for what it really is: a bloody good laugh.