Cosas que hacen que la vida valga la pena (2004)

Sick Product of a Sick System

Just perfect...

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

This acceptable comedy with brief touches of drama concerning an ex-alcoholic unemployed man named Jorge (Eduard Fernández) and a separated middle-aged woman called Hortensia (Ana Belen) who works in an out of work office (INEM , the public agency that helps work-less people to find a job) . Jorge , who is deeply affected from a car crash happened long time ago , falls in love with Hortensia . They suddenly meet , emerging an enjoyable romance , as both have suffered a lot in their past relationships and nowadays attempting to start a new life . They start going out , to discover themselves several little things . Later on , both of whom get together at a communion , there happens a fun dancing in the luxurious banquet where protagonists dance in rhythm of ¨Jail rock¨.This interesting as well as charming film is full of humor , agreeable scenes , brief drama , good feeling and being deliberately paced . It is a simple , sympathetic and intelligent portrait of a few people who feel great sadness and loneliness . Both of them are seeking for a new love story , a second chance after they've ruined it all , concerning about the midlife crisis , the life disappointing , a lot of reflecting between the two protagonists and many others things . It has some moments of enjoyment as well as amusement and others quite a few embarrassing . Regular and unbalanced , but gaining the sympathy almost at all times . This particular romance is overspread throughout the movie , but not completely satisfactory , including conventional pitfalls . In spite of it , the movie results to be better than average , being surprisingly funny and compellingly realized . The picture attempts to spread optimism about the events of life , family , sons and love , with its amusing sides but also including some deceptions . The last half hour of the picture results to be the more unsettling and dramatic , it is the best part , where takes place some touching and tragic events and it just makes worth watching the flick . The movie is based on a radio programme titled ¨Little things that makes that live worth it¨ presented by the known anchor man Iñaqui Gabilondo . Very good acting by Eduard Fernández as a drunken who just came out of a big depression . As Eduard Fernandez at her best , he steals the show as an out of work man who suffered a car accident with fateful consequences . The picture relies heavily on the relationship between Eduard Fernández and Ana Belen who also gives a marvelous acting as a solitary public official who unexpectedly finds love . Support cast is frankly excellent such as María Pujalte , José Sacristán , Rosario Pardo , Zoe Berriatúa , Carlos Kaniowsky , Carmen Balagué , Fernando Colomo and Raúl Arévalo . Moving and emotive musical score by Bingen Mendizabal and including unforgettable songs sung by Joan Manuel Serrat , Joaquin Sabina , among others . Furthermore , a colorful and evocative cinematography by Juan Amoros . The motion picture was produced by Cesar Benítez , being well written and directed by Manuel Gomez Pereira along with his usual collaborators : Yolanda García Serrano and Joaquín Oristrell . He usually writes his films and occasionally for other directors as "What Makes Women Laugh?" by Joaquin Oristell who in "Love Can Seriously Damage Your Health" is screenwriter and producer ; both of them are ordinary collaborators . Pereira is an expert on comedies as ¨¨Rose sauce¨, Why do they call it love when they mean sex ?¨, ¨Mouth to mouth¨ , "All Men Are the Same" , though he also has made some drama as ¨The hanged man¨ and this ¨Between your legs¨ . His latest projects, however, tanked as "Off Key" starred by an American-all star cast but was a failure both economically and artistically or simply didn't deliver as "Atrévete y Verás" . Nowadays , he directs TV chapters as ¨Gran Reserva¨ and ¨Cheers¨ series .

Jorge is a work-less that one day, decides that this day is the one that will change his life. He fells in love with Hortensia, the woman in the INEM office (the Spanish agency that helps work-less to find a job). They both have suffered a lot in their past relationships and they feel great loneliness. They start going out, to discover these little things that makes that live worth it. Being short, the movie has some comic moments mixed with some enormously acid and touching. It is quick, as there's no time to waste. The actors play a good part (unexpected in Ana Belen) but, she has the problem of looking too wealthy, when she theoretically is a low-class woman, and that's a problem with most of the characters, that the all seem too wealthy (with Ana Belen the problem is worse indeed); and that makes the film a little too much unreliable. The action is the typical in these stories, it has anything new and sometimes can result a little annoying, as you know what's going to happen, but it's not boring and it's relaxed to watch to. It is probably the best movie of the director, but that was not very difficult, as he had done totally awful comedies before.

Yesterday, I went alone to the cinema, because here in Mexico, most of the times movies from other countries are part of the so called "camára alternativa" (alternative camera). But after I saw this movie, I realized that not all the foreign movies are alternative. Afortunately, this is a good a example. But I have to said that I enjoyed so much this movie.. that at the end I was happy.. this movie is a little spoon of hope in these days. And the main lesson for me.. is that at the end of the day...the love is main force behind us. This is a good option to see a good movie in Spanish...and I have to mention the good music.. specially the main song of the movie.. Cosas que hacen que la vida valga la pena.... Excellent song!!!

Two lonely people meet and unexpectedly get involved in the strangest of love relationships. Both of them are burdened by complicated sentimental baggage, which won't make their love story precisely easy. This is basically the plot of every romantic comedy, and "Cosas que hacen que la vida valga la pena" is no exception. Considering that this is a genre I particularly like, the premise is not as important as the film's atmosphere, the performances of the leading couple and the feelgood effect of the compulsory happy ending. In this case "Cosas que hacen que la vida valga la pena" works in some of these aspects, but fails to deliver in some others. To put things straight, the best part of the movie is the charming leading couple. Ana Belén, who should be working more, is especially remarkable in her quirky turn as Hortensia, while Eduard Fernández (Jorge) keeps up with her for most of the time. Their performances might be irregular at times, but they make such a great couple that any possible flaw is easily forgotten. Although the quality of the film is above standard, I could not fail to feel that something had gone wrong with this. I was particularly disappointed by the screenplay, which is generally the best part of Gómez Pereira's comedies. For one thing, character archs are mostly implausible and difficult to explain. Even with the excessive use of voice-over, the viewer fails to sympathize with the characters and understand their decisions. Besides, the plot centers itself so much on the leading couple that the great supporting cast (María Pujalte, Carlos Kaniowski and specially José Sacristán) are left with little more than a few scenes each. Maybe focusing a little on the relationship between Jorge and his father would have helped make the character more real. I wouldn't like to finish my comment without mentioning the outstanding soundtrack, which features a few of the best Spanish songs ("Noches de bohemia" and "Princesa", for example) and a nice original song performed by Pasión Vega. In a nutshell, this is a feel-good movie that has a little for everybody, but specially for those who love every kind of romantic comedies.Overall rating: 6/10