En la ciudad sin límites (2002)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Antonio Hernández

Writers:

Enrique Brasó (writer)
Antonio Hernández (writer)

Release Date:

1 March 2002 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Debes encontrar la salida

Plot:

Victor is a man who gets to Paris to join his family around their seriously ill father, Max. As the...

Plot Keywords:

Paris | Spanish Civil War | Number 708 | Gay Parent | Loyalty

Awards:

6 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Leonardo Sbaraglia	...	Victor
Fernando Fernán Gómez	...	Max
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Marie
Ana Fernández	...	Carmen
Adriana Ozores	...	Pilar
Leticia Brédice	...	Eileen
Roberto Álvarez	...	Luis
Àlex Casanovas	...	Alberto
Mónica Estarreado	...	Beatriz
Alfredo Alcón	...	Rancel
Natacha Kucic	...	Isabelle
Jorge San José	...	Alejandro
Lorena López	...	Lorena
Alain Cipot	...	Pierre
Eduardo Torroja	...	Recepcionista 2

Also Known As:

The City of No Limits (Europe: English title) (Berlin film festival title)

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

Spain | Argentina

Language:

Spanish | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Netherlands:12 | Spain:13 | UK:12A

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Icónica S.A.

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Antonio Hernández(I)]friend of Rancel (although credited, may pass unnoticed)

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Victor is flying into Paris and looks out his window, the outdoor landscape scene is frozen and does not move as it should along with the flying plane.

Soundtrack:

Liberté, Égalité, Mariage

Spaniards in Paris

At the risk of casting a dissenting note, this film with its convoluted plot, showing a dysfunctional family fighting as the patriarch is dying, left this viewer cold. One has to appreciate the fact that independent film makers take a different view on what they perceive as correct. The Spanish cinema, in general, loves to load a lot of political baggage to the plots of their films, at the expense of the viewer's interest and knowledge of history of that country.

Antonio Hernandez, the director, working on his own material, shows he can direct a large cast of Spanish and Argentine actors. The only problem is the story is not so compelling and keeps getting side tracked by the heavy laden screen play.

The acting, in general is adequate. The matriarch Marie, as played by Geraldine Chaplin, is the most annoying figure in the film. Fernando Fernan Gomez, as Max, plays his usual self with gusto. Leonardo Sbaraglia, an excellent actor, is Victor, the son that believes in the conspiracy. Alfredo Alcon, one of the best Argentine actors of stage and screen appears briefly in the film.