Alone (1999)

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Solas (1999)A purely effective entry into the private worlds of several very lonely people in contemporary Spain. Tenderly filmed, acted with understated and honest passion, and written in a way that makes you believe it. And that's the point. You really care about first the lonely old woman, then increasingly about her troubled daughter, and finally about the old man who is a neighbor living alone. What some people need, other people need to give. But they don't always know it, or if they know it they still resist, trapped by promises made or by convention.It's an interesting dose of reality that there are a couple of truly bad people here, as well, both men, both abusive in different ways to their woman. One, an older man in the hospital, remains bitter even as his health declines, and he reveals in a key passage that what he cares about is whether he was the kind of man society and tradition had expected him to be. Nothing else. It's sad, but not as tormenting as the younger selfish man who almost glories in his selfishness.What makes the movie strike deep, though, is how the women put up with this. We aren't sure if it is because they too are caught up in society's traditions, or if they have some emotional need to be abused, however that gets started. But what we are sure of is how familiar this sounds--if not in our own relationships, at least in those around us, somewhere.As powerful as this movie is, it is never overpowering, and never sentimentally driven (until, alas, the very end, which is a disappointing but understandable wrap up). What works so well is how subtle the emotional highs and lows are. It's all written and directed by people who understand what is going on in life, beyond the deceptions of the silver screen.

Solas is a story that mirrors the lives a mother and her daughter María have as both have abusive relationships. When María's father is in hospital her mother stays with her daughter in Seville and meets a man (Vecino) of her own age in the apartment block. María's friend is only interested in the sexual part of their relation and immediately insists on having an abortion when he finds out she's pregnant. Mother and daughter now have to make important decisions about their future.The movie has a bleak and depressing atmosphere: María has an alcohol addiction, she becomes jobless after working as a cleaning lady, hospital scenes with María's not too friendly father, Seville has never looked worse. Also most color schemes are rather dark, except for the halls in the apartment block and Vecino's apartment as it is there that consolation is found by both women. The theme of abusive relationships is nowadays hot in Spanish cinema with the recent (and more centered) Te doy mis ojos. The Andalusian dialect is well done here as many people learning to speak Spanish will have trouble understanding parts of the movie.Some symbolism is used in this movie: Vecino's dog (loyalty but also guardian) is used to remind us of the disloyalty towards the father the mother experiences when she meets Vecino. María and her father sniffing on people, also demanding dog-like loyalty. Vecino's fish is fresh at first, but is later in the freezer, as is the possibility of a relationship between Vecino and the mother. And mind the name of our main protagonist María in relation to her story; her mother and father have no name in the movie; the mother played by María Galiana. The main message seems to be that nobody can be happy alone, although the irony is of course that all are alone (or lonely) because of one abusive relationship.Solas tells its story in a very slow pace, maybe to let us experience how slowly time flows for these unfortunate people. Its style is rather distant, so expect no cheap sentiment here. In the end the movie makes a time leap, but it feels as if that ending was rushed to leave the theater in a more uplifted mood. Also the ending feels contrived in a way. The same often happens with Mike Leigh's movies; take All or Nothing for instance, a movie and director where Solas has more in common with than meets the eye.The director Benito Zambrano has good storytelling skills, but lacks visual imagination when it comes to the medium of film. As he is also unable to structure the story in an interesting way, he is certainly no match for Pedro Almodóvar who has better visual skills and has learned how to structure a story. I guess Zambrano would be a far better writer than director. Solas is an interesting failure and one of the first Spanish movies in a long row I disliked somewhat. But that's also a little reassuring from the country that by now makes the most interesting movies in Europe.

When I saw this movie, nobody told me his plot. I just watched it and at the end, my heart was broke, but was too stunned. The story is so hard of tell, and Benito Zambrano, the director, does it slowly, showing all the sensitive possible, and making cry everybody.But... what wants to show this movie? Only one thing: A mother's love. The performance of Maria Galiana is absolutely PERFECT. Ana Fernandez and Carlos Alvarez Novoa are correct, but Maria Galiana is better than they. I cried watching the movie because of the end, just look the scene when the mother's sleeping in front of the sunset. Just beautiful.The powerful of the images and the impact of the performances make of SOLAS the best movie of 90s in Spain.

Unfortunately rather overlooked as this film came out the same year as Almodóvar's 'Todo Sobre mi Madre' which went on to reach fame and glory. However, if you liked Almodóvar's excellent drama you will also like 'Solas'. The two films have certain similarities inasmuch that also in 'Solas' the accent is very much on strong characterisation, profound human feelings, though perhaps a little less intense here than in Almodóvar's film. Ana Fernández is magnificent, playing just right the rather confused, unlucky thirty-five year old young woman a bit given to alcohol, not overplaying her part; María Galiana as her mother shows even at her age that she has come from good theatre, as no less does Carlos Álvarez-Novoa as the lonely neighbour. Benito Zembrano - as Almodóvar - , not only directs his film but is also responsible for the script, which is truly magnificent, especially taking into account certain Andalucian styles of speech. The Andalucian accent may at times cause a bit of a problem if you know Spanish a fair amount and watch this film without any subtitles. Try it, anyway: it is well worth the effort. An excellent piece of drama which certainly deserves more recognition than it has got. Curiously both films end with a remarkably similar dedication at the end: 'A mi madre; a todas las madres' - To my mother; To all mothers.