Family United (2013)

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The first must-see film of the year.

Not necessarily a bad film but not a film I am impressed with, five brothers come together for a wedding during the 2010 world cup, Dad falls ill on the wedding day. The wedding gets put on hold and everything in between falls apart and everybody's personal issues comes in focus and gets resolved in 95 minutes its a bit melodramatic over written lacks wit or chemistry between the characters it felt like i was watching a Spanish TV pilot remake of Brothers & Sisters on the big screen.I tried to like this film but the characters became a bit annoying after 20 minutes of watching this film.

If Garry Marshall were to make a Spanish movie, this would be it. It is filled with those kind of stereo-typed characters that only exist in movies and TV shows. We have the aunt that smokes cigarettes while requiring an oxygen tank (it's supposed to be funny, don't ya know). The slow-adult that spouts words of wisdom that are supposed to makes us all sigh at his deepness unencumbered by thought. There's the little girl who is smarter than her father (isn't she just so precious). Each character is once removed from reality and each is dealing with their own particular problems which are all neatly resolved at the end. All this against the backdrop of a wedding, which itself is against the backdrop of the world cup. It's all cute and entertaining to a degree but really never fully engages you because you always know it's not real and could never be. Like watching a TV sitcom. For example, a wedding procession which occurs early in the film introduces many of the characters by having them dancing down the isle. It is preparing you for what is to come and it will make you squirm.

Highly recommend watching and be touched by this beautiful story involving these five brothers. In each of them we can identify someone of our family or any known family. In a bucolic landscape comes a little bit of everything. Joy, sorrow, struggle, melancholy and even a final of the World Cup. The message he is passing as some people sacrifice themselves for the happiness of others. Some people have a vagueness about the love between two people, I mean, a clear vision of what love is, and this is another ingredient of this beautiful movie. The representation of human feelings is shown throughout the movie. Practically secured tears in the end ... Do not miss!

I was quite disappointed by 'La gran familia española' which was just nice to see but not a film to remember, or revisit. Too many elements are pushed together onto a plot that is too close for comfort to old-fashioned Spanish 'costumbrismo'. If this is your introduction to Sánchez Arévalo you run the risk of missing much better films by him, like the super 'Azul Oscuro, Casi Negro', the excellent 'Gordos' and the very funny 'Primos', a much better comedy than 'La gran familia española'. I'll grant, though, that the cast is very solid, with Arévalo's fetish actors Antonio de la Torre and Quim Gutiérrez doing their best, with interesting performances by Verónica Echegui and the younger actors.