Solas (1998)

A powerful and touching story of love and redemption, Solas is a drama of Spanish women whose emotional life is as rich as their surroundings are poor. Maria is a beautiful but troubled woman adrift in a nameless city in southern Spain. She drinks, smokes and steals, desperate for oblivion and angry at the entire world. Emotional rescue comes in the form of her own mother, who comes to stay with her daughter when Maria’s father needs surgery at the hospital in town. The mother cooks, crochets and befriends the gentlemanly neighbor downstairs while patiently trying to reach out to her daughter, whose bitterness is no match for her mother’s love and devotion.

family you can't pick them but if you could

This is a great foreign film! The characters are flawed yet strong and this film proves that just sometimes you get a second chance and can pick your family members. The main character has a troubled relationship with both parents but loves her mother in spite of what she sees as weakness. Her father is another story and in the end the main character gets to finally have a father figure that she and her mother both would have loved. I loved this film perhaps the most because I myself have learned over the years that what we're born into and what we would have picked are vastly different. The acting is strong and believable. I recommend this to everyone. May 25, 2008

Only connect . . .

This is a somber and troubling film, about an angry, single woman in her 30s, whose mother comes to live with her while the older woman's husband recovers from surgery in a hospital. The mother is long-suffering and patient, rarely objecting to her daughter's bitter outbursts, rudeness, and drinking, while not yielding to her pessimism and anger. It is a collision of opposites until the daughter discovers that she is pregnant by an unsympathetic long-haul truck driver. A gray-haired widower with a German shepherd who lives in the same building completes the set of characters, and we wait with considerable patience as the resolution we yearn for eventually plays itself out and brings a measure of happiness for at least some of them. This is a thoughtful film, painful to watch at times, with fine performances, illustrating E. M. Forster's belief that people would be better off if they would only "connect." July 31, 2007

love and compassion for others can be the source of one's emotional strength

Ana Fernandez played the role of a daughter who was embittered by unhappy relationships with her parents. Living alone in a city, she found herself unhappy and desperate. Trapped in poverty, excessive drinkings, a failing relationship, and employment difficulties, she grew indignant at everything around her. During one of her mother's brief visit, she saw how the love, care, and compassion towards others in her mother could be the source of emotional strength. The discovery allowed her to seek redemptions and find a path towards positive life.

The story-telling isn't perfect, nonetheless it is a realistic, emotionally rich, and highly satisfying movie with superb performances turned in by all the actors. It makes me want to learn more about the director Benito Zambrano, in particular his thoughts and comments on making this movie. Unfortunately this version of the DVD does not provide any extra material, I long for a version that does.

January 3, 2007

Truly a classic

This movie is truly a gem. Of all the best Spanish movies that I've seen this one tops my list. It's a wonderful character study of individuals in desperate situations and how each one confronts them. I found particularly moving the saintly mother. I'd highly recommend this movie to those who also enjoy Mike Leigh's 'Secrets and Lies'. August 23, 2006

Solas

I have not been able to see this movie becasue the CD is defective. July 5, 2006

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