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2011, 06-17; seen 04-12-11:
Review of film: “THE TRIP” = Report # 08 re 27th LATINO FILM FESTIVAL
“EL PASEO”
During Chicago’s LATINO FILM FEST, I ENJOYED seeing the above mentioned comedy film (from COLOMBIA, directed by Harold Trompetero) on April 12th. It’s in Spanish with English subtitles...
... The movie is now scheduled to be shown again, FREE to the public on Wed., June 22nd at Chicago’s Piotrowski Park, 4247 W 31st St. It will be shown outdoors, starting around dusk (approximately 8 pm), & I’m going to give you my REVIEW of it at this time:
... Here’s a general description the Fest gave in SPANISH about the movie:
“ Después de 11 años de trabajo continuo, Alex Peinado decide pasar unas vacaciones inolvidables junto a su familia. Emprende un viaje por carretera rumbo a Cartagena, junto a su esposa, sus dos hijos adolescentes, su perro Káiser y hasta su insoportable suegra. Pero el viaje no es su única motivación, Alex oculta un plan que le exige llegar a su destino puntualmente. Sin embargo, el recorrido se convertirá en la más increíble aventura que, aunque pondrá en riesgo su llegada a la costa, le dará a su familia la más extraordinaria lección. ”
... The story involves a man, Alex Peinado (ANTONIO SANINT) who hasn’t had a vacation for 11 years & decides he wants to take his family on a VACATION trip to Cartagena...
... He has a surprise he’s planned, but he doesn’t want to TELL the others what it is or just why it’s so “important” to him that they depart promptly & arrive at a certain place by a given time. He just keeps “pushing” the family to agree to gather their things & LEAVE quickly...
... His wife, Hortensia (CAROLINA GÓMEZ), is willing to go-- but only if they take along her often-complaining MOTHER, Carmelita (MARÍA MARGARITA GIRALDO), who clearly doesn’t think much of Antonio as a husband. Reluctantly, he agrees she can join them...
... Antonio’s teenage daughter, Milena, (ADELAIDA LÓPEZ), is BOY-crazy and a “drama queen” about the idea of leaving her latest boyfriend & needing to regularly CALL him on her cell phone...
... His long-haired hippie-ish teenage son, Octavio (MIGUEL CANAL), keeps acting “ZEN”-like, sitting in strange “trances” & insisting he no longer “NEEDS” to do things like eat or go to the toilet... He’s quite willing to go along on the trip, but keeps treating his dad like a jolly “brother” FRIEND rather than as a father figure...
... With a considerable number of difficulties, this odd group eventually gets into their convertible VW bus (with their dog, Kaiser) and sets off on the trip... Naturally, there are consistent DISAGREEMENTS between the various vacationers, especially between Antonio & Maria...
... The travelers encounter an onrushing cluster of problems (many of them FUNNY) that arise from a growing level of disputes (about getting LOST because they can’t agree on what’s the correct road to take, etc.)...
... The family members aren’t too “thrilled” with having gone on the trip when the car breaks down periodically...
... The father loves looking at the pretty & “deserted” countryside (tho the others don’t seem to “care” very much about it)...
... Antonio tends to lose a lot of his “enthusiasm” for the journey when they all get captured & taken PRISONERS by REBELS who are operating in the area... The travelers drive the insurgents “CRAZY” with their demands, arguments & strange behavior, & they’re a bit at a loss about how to “handle” them...
... At one point, after his family gets “free”, Antonio convinces the group to join him at a SWIMMING resort-- tho only he really wants to swim... His daughter prefers being with a new BOY she thinks is cute, his son wants to “meditate”, his mother-in-law wants to be left “alone”, etc...
... Will Antonio reach his destination on “TIME” for his “surprise”?... What IS the “surprise”, & will anyone else really “care” about it?... What will happen to the various family members, & will the trip CHANGE them in any worthwhile way(s)?...
... The basic plot has been seen a number of times before, but the CASTING is very good (especially Antonio and particularly easygoing Miguel as his nutty son), & thus the simple film is unusually FUNNY & SUCCESSFUL...
... Thus, since it’s ENJOYABLE, I’m rating this 90-minute film at 7.25 out of 10 stars...
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