Film & TV

Spanish Film Festival Review: Gente De Bien

This is a story about “good people”. It is an incredibly life-like portrayal of the struggle “good people” face in a world obsessed with money and status.

 

gente-de-bien-003Franco Lolli’s Gente De Bien, as it’s title reflects, is a story about “good people”. It is an incredibly life-like, yet disjointed and slow-paced, portrayal of the struggle “good people” face in a world obsessed with money and status.

Of course, that’s not to say the well-to-do in this film aren’t good people, or that near-poverty makes people righteous, no, not at all. Gente De Bien is a highly conscious social drama that explores the tension between two disparate worlds and presents its characters as well-rounded and realistic, rather than simple stereotypes.

Gente De Bien follows Eric (Bryan Santamaria), a 10 year old boy living with his poor father Gabriel (Carlos Fernando Pérez). Eric is quickly introduced to a life of affluence he has never known when Maria Isabel (Alejandra Barrero) invites the father and son to stay out her villa over the holidays. Eric soon comes to realise that the gap between the rich and poor is harsher than he thought, and that modern life is a lot more complicated than it seems to a young niño.

The quality of the acting in this film is quite impressive. Combined with a very loose style of camerawork, at times you might think it more of a documentary than a fictional movie. Santamaria is a very talented little actor who, I’m sure, the audience will fall in love with throughout the movie. Fernando Pérez is also great in his own way, with a fantastic look and demeanour that matches his character to a tee.

The writing and direction is similarly superb, with every scene being so meticulously crafted it doesn’t even seem to be. Every event of the film goes by in a subdued haze of powerful realism. Compared to many modern Hollywood dramas, this film will seem quite slow and fragmented, perhaps even a little boring to some, but that’s definitely not a wholly negative thing. The very nature of this movie makes the struggles of its characters more real, and creates a lot more of an emotional attachment for the viewer.

I will complain a little though. Gente De Bien isn’t wholly devoid of clichéd, drama-tropes. I won’t spoil the ending in any way, other than to say it is one of those bittersweet moments (well, not really that sweet) that seem a bit forced into the plot simply to get the waterworks flowing.

Overall, Gente De Bien is a very touching piece of storytelling but suffers a bit from its plodding pacing and relative lack of dialogue. Go catch it when it screens, but maybe order a glass of wine and bring a box of tissues with you!

Reviewed by James Rudd
Twitter: @james_wrr

Rating out of 10: 7

Gente De Bien screens on 19 May 2015 as part of the 18th annual Spanish Film Festival, exclusively at the Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas.

 

 

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