SOLAS
Reviewed by Harvey Karten Samuel Goldwyn Films/ Fireworks Pictures Director: Benito Zambrano Writer: Benito Zambrano Cast: Paco De Osca, Antonio Dechent, Ana Fernandez, Juan Fernandez, Maria Galiana, Carlos Alvarez-Novoa
One of the most memorable cartoons in The New Yorker magazine shows a young American woman with the Eiffel Tower in the background telling a local, "But I don't WANT to see the real Paris...I want to see the TOURIST's Paris!" Who can blame her? The real anything is not what would interest anyone out on a fun holiday, nor would the real people have much use for the typical American tourist. If you go to Spain, say, to the particularly romantic city of Seville, do you want to see how the ordinary people--who, compared to Americans, would be considered poor--live, or do you want to take in the flamenco joints, feast on the paella mariscada at the Meson Sevilla, and take a horse and buggy ride along the banks of the Guadalquivir? I rest my case.
But there's still a chance for you to see the authentic Andalucians without leaving the comfort of a theater seat by taking in Benito Zambrano's thoughtful film "Solas," winner of 11 nominations for the Goya (Spain's Oscars), and a well- traveled movie that has hit the filmfest circuit from Berlin to Toronto and then some. "Solas," which means "alone," sounds like a downer from its title, and to a fan of fast- moving, commercial, and highly financed pictures it would seem to be just that. Yet if you patiently take on the sincere dialogue expressed by people you won't see on the glossy pages of the Spanish Tourist Board's brochures, you will see at least three of the characters redeemed from lives of abuse, solitude and desperation. Even more than in the dialogue, you will feel every fleeting and lingering emotion alike simply by studying the faces of the skilled performers, particularly that of Maria Galina as the elderly mother of a troubled woman who drinks, smokes, steals and is given to outbreaks of tempestuous emotion and a kaleidoscope of grimaces.
At the story's center is Maria (Ana Fernandez) who should have received the Goya simply for her ability to run through a performance for at least an hour before cracking even the dawn of a smile. She's in bad shape. She drinks and smokes and, being without a job, she runs up a tab with a friendly bartender whom she calls simply Fat Man. This is one angry piece of work. Why? We learn (but never observe) that she and her mother were hit from time to time by Maria's father (Paco De Osca), now recovering from an operation in an unnamed city in Southern Spain where Maria's mother, a village person, is invited to share a musty, mildewed flat rented by Maria. Nothing world-shaking happens. Director Benito Zambrano is more interested in conveying the inner turmoil of his principals, and so while Maria (who refuses to visit her father) gets into a fracas with her offensive boy friend and her mother wiles away the days crocheting and cooking and visiting her sick and disparaging old husband in the hospital, hope arises only by the presence of a neighbor (Carlos Alvarez-Novoa) who is old and has no family and no one to talk to except his loyal German Shepherd Achilles.
While Maria buys the occasional lottery ticket from the blind seller outside the bar, nothing dramatic is to come her way through the sort of contrivance you might expect in a Hollywood movie. Instead, the elderly neighbor is to offer three people a chance at a modicum of pleasure--Maria, her mother, and himself.
Zambrano states in the notes: "Film must be more than a sad story. We propose solidarity, love and tenderness as the weapons to win love over loneliness, misery and dehumanization. We urge others to always look for happiness, because it is our right. Even if it seems there is no way out, there always exists somewhere to escape from unhappiness."
We all know that what the world needs now is love, sweet love, but Zambrano ups the ante by suggesting solidarity and tenderness as key ingredients as well. "Solas," a downer on the most obvious level, turns out to be its converse. Rich or poor, it's nice to have money. But if you can't get the cash, trust in your capacity to find gratification in the enjoyment of others. Maria does, as does he neighbor. We should all be as fortunate. "Solas" is targeted to a specialized audience of those who see cinema not as an escape but as a chance to confront the reality of our lives. Zambrano's film is deeply humanistic, blessed with a few performances that approach the astonishing.
Not Rated. Running time: 98 minutes. (C) 2000 by Harvey Karten, film_critic@compuserve.com
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