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Aviva R --- A Beautiful Film with a Sad Story A beautiful film with a sad story, wrapped in so many layers. First and foremost, it is the story of the Chilean girl, María Margarita, intertwined with the story of a family that falls apart under the harsh circumstances of poor people who make a living from a nearby mine. This family’s story is further embedded in the broader story of a society and a country plagued by economic and political instability, as the socialist Allende is brutally overthrown by the dictator Pinochet. All of this serves as the backdrop for the life of the girl and her family. The girl is imaginative, essentially optimistic, and copes with her meager life in a mature and creative way. Until her father is injured—left disabled and in a wheelchair—the family functions well, even though the mother is not completely satisfied. The father’s disability and the extreme poverty that descends upon the family drive the mother away—she had already felt she was missing out on life. The girl becomes a storyteller for the community, which is too poor to send all its children to the cinema. She goes to see movies and retells them in a vivid and captivating way, helping the family survive. But soon, the family continues to fall apart, especially after the father's death. At the end of the film, the girl—now a young woman—returns to the abandoned town after the mine has closed. She casts a backward glance at the life she had as a child, creating a frame for the story that has been told. The Danish director Lone Scherfig created this beautiful film based on the novel by Hernán Rivera Letelier, who himself grew up in a mining town. The book is based on his personal experiences in a poor community that revolved around the mine and the power that allowed an escape from the harsh reality: the cinema. This is also a film about the film industry. A filmmaker dealing with the impact of cinema on society and the human soul is addressing something close to their heart, and it’s evident here. The love of movies—especially old classics like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, mostly American films, westerns, and John Wayne—runs deep. The unquestioned heroes of this community are American actors, who give the miners and their families a chance for escapism and a taste of richer, happier lives. In other words, cinema here serves the purpose of escapism. Excellent performances by the young girl playing María Margarita, as well as the young woman portraying her later, and the actors playing the mother, father, and brothers—all make the film captivating and well worth watching. Bottom line: A beautiful film about a girl living in a disintegrating family, within a disintegrating community, in a country that transforms before her eyes into a brutal dictatorship, all under the shadow of cinema as a means of escape. Excellent directing, strong performances, and an engaging plot. Cast: Bérénice Bejo, Daniel Brühl, Alondra Valenzuela, Sara Becker Director: Lone Scherfig Screenplay: Rafa Russo, Walter Salles, Isabel Coixet Cinematography: Daniel Aráoz Music: Fernando Velázquez 116 minutes | Language: Spanish The writer is a film critic from Israel Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 06/04/25 Full Review Eye C Una muy bella película para cinéfilos. Con escenas fuertes, emotivas y tristes. Grandes actuaciones con un contexto histórico relevante. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 04/06/25 Full Review Read all reviews

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