In Your Absence (2009)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Fresh and Exciting

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Did Pablo intentionally withdraw the ladder or had not he seen that his father was on the roof of the home? Does Pablo see in the stranger a father of substitution or did he feel for him an "homosexual" attraction? Did Julia tease the postman and was her consenting(anyway it is a sexual abuse) or was it a rape? Thank you for answers and excuse my bad English.Decors and pictures of this film sound splendid. Comments are very sober but very significant. The character of Julia is is possible be too much caricature. I do not believe a 14-year-old girl be able to act so? Stage of the pseudo rape under the eyes of the grandfather is a bit" borderline" .The character of Pablo is very lovable. I deeply recommend this film.

I read a so-called 'review' below, which seems inspired by some bizarre personal grudge, rather than lucidity. Better they stick to 'Spiderman', and leave indie reviews for others. I have followed the course of this spectacularly beautiful film since it first came out. But just sticking to facts: I doubt the film would have been selected over tens of thousands of other films in the most important festivals of the world, if it had been 'amateur'! What a silly comment. Seattle, Vancouver, Palm Springs, it was voted one of the top films in Vancouver. Reviews have been outstanding right across the board, by professional critics in various countries. What is most striking about the film is the amazing naturalness of the acting, which they all refer to. So when one refers to 'skit' level acting, it is clear they are either an envious failed director, or have another agenda. The screenplay itself is one of the most sensitive portrayals of youth I have come across, full of subtleties, which, yes, I can see some more 'hollywood-style' persons might not catch on to. Well done Mr Noel, and ignore the sub-standard reviews like the one below. IMDb is a free and very 'popular' medium where the lowest minds even try to contribute. If the trailer is anything to go by, his second film looks to be even more promising. I'll leave you with what they said on the films first showing: 'Director Noel shoots the gloriously sunlit countryside around the village of Jerez with the eye of a painter while showing his expertise at playing with audience expectations. It is this sure-handed way with what turns out to be a surprising narrative, the naturalism of the local townspeople in their first acting roles, and the almost dangerous sensuality of the cinematography, that marks In Your Absence as a very impressive first film.'

The director says for this first film he gave his all, sold his house and spent $500,000 to make it with mostly non-actors in a beautiful part of Andalucia. Noel is good with the camera, with landscape, with improvisation, and with music, which he composed (he plays guitar). He uses simple elements, a mysterious man arriving with a broken-down car, a 13-year old boy missing a father, a flirty girl, a nosy postman--but the drama becomes quite complicated.I'm not sure all the dots get connected or all final tragedies are necessary, but the ambiguous situation of the boy bonding with the man and the suspicious villagers feels original.The director came to Spain (from where?) and settled in Andalucia 13 years ago to study Flamenco guitar. He has a recording studio, composes and plays multiple instruments, and also teaches music and drama in schools. The young actors in the film including his talented teen star Gonzalo Sanchez Salas, he trained in acting workshops for months before shooting the film.'En tu ausencia' was in some festivals including Vancouver (2008) and Palm Springs (2009) but went straight to DVD in the US. It would be nice if Noel were able to make more features after this promising beginning.

The film "En tu Ausencia" is the debut of composer/filmmaker Iván Noel. I have personally witnessed from relatively close by the ongoing battle to get this film shot, edited and distributed and I can bear testimony of what a nightmare the process has been for Noel. He sold his house and used the money to make the film (and not starve whilst at it), but this is only a minor detail compared to all the disasters that befell on his way to having a feature film under his belt. If I had known, I would have shot a "making of", which would have compared well with "Lost in la Mancha", the main difference being that "Ausencia" finally made it to the theaters and on DVD's. And what justice is being done by allowing people to see this film! How talent and perseverance have resulted in a lush and utterly moving work of art. Where Almodovar captures from within the decadence and surrealism of Spain's capital Madrid, Noel has fallen in love with down to dry earth Andalusia. He offers us a unique and intimate view of real Andalusian people in their isolated world, while at the same time touching upon universal themes such as friendship, parenthood, coming of age, sexuality and betrayal. Set in the Arcadian landscape of springtime Southern Spain, the local actors (most of them young first time performers) behave as their own nature dictates, within the parameters of the story, closely directed by Noel. It is here that Noel excels: the visuals of the film are well above average of most Hollywood shows, the story is ingenuous and captivating, but the performances of the actors drawn out by intense direction are so direct and real that they touch the viewer as if he were participating in the story. Music (composed by Noel, who started pro life as a musician) beautifully accentuates and supports emotions evoked by the scenes, where impressionist images are followed by starkly realistic ones, although the film always draws upon our own imagination and experiences to complete the picture. A highly original film!