En la Ciudad Sin Limites (2002)

Confusion Masks Reality: Sorting Out the Mystery

Maximillian Martin is an elderly Spanish gentleman who is hospitalized in Paris in an ultramodern high tech hospital ... where each patient resides in a two or three room suite while undergoing tests and procedures or recovery from an illness or surgery ... His son Victor and girlfriend Eileen from Argentina arrive at Charles DeGaul Airport where they are met by Alberto another son and his wife Carmen and Luis, Max's third son. The family is gathering to support Max during this difficult time when he has been diagnosed with brain cancer and is preparing for brain surgery.

Victor keeps company with his dad at the hospital and listens closely when his dad rambles about needing to leave the hospital ... to find Rancel. He provides Victor a key to a secret apartment in Paris which his dad had owned for 40 years and also gives him a button which will verify to Rancel that Victor is who he says he is ... Victor is puzzled by his dad's rambling and mentions some of it to his mom. Later, he sees his mom, Marie berating his dad and begins to wonder if maybe she is hiding something from him, holding back information or misdleading him. There are some fascinating family dynamics within the story. For example, Luis who divorced his wife is making love to his mistress (who used to be the nanny to their children) and the exwife makes a loud scene at the hotel about their relationship causing other guests to come out into the corridor to find out what all the noise is about. Victor has been having an affair with Carmen, the wife of his brother Alberto but Eileen understands (so she says). Eileen is completely aware of this, declares her love for him but lays down an ultimatum, he must make up his mind whether or not he will marry her. Essentially he must choose between Carmen or Eileen ...

Victor helps his dad escape from the hospital for a few hours and they roam Paris, looking for the address his dad needed to find. Max is looking for "The Fountain" and is seriously distressed when it is not where he believed it was. After returning to the hospital, Victor discovers a book written by Rancel with a title that begins to make sense out of his dad's ramblings. The biography for Rancel as written on the jacket inside cover begins to put things together for Victor and he suspects his mom has been lying to him. Victor tries to find Rancel, the author ... Victor learns Rancel and his dad were Communists 40 years ago and both were supposed to meet at a railroad station. His dad did not show up but Rancel did and was arrested, imprisoned for 10 years. Max felt guilty for Rancel's imprisonment, yet he never visited him in prison. He wanted to make peace with this aspect of his life ... The story and plot are mysterious as the pieces of the puzzle come together and add some surprises which twist and turn the ending into a very fitting conclusion. This is a highly recommended film for mystery fans who love a good thrill ... Erika Borsos (pepper flower) November 14, 2006

"Sin Limites" brings Humanness to the City

The movie is good but the item was received damaged (the DVD box was cracked and torn around the stem and edges - but the DVD disk was OK). The storyline is capable. The acting is very good and plays with depth: layers of tension, conflict, human frailty and determination. The actors chosen for the roles are excellent. March 8, 2006

a lot of quiet

I have to be a dissenting reviewer from the norm, as I found the film so lifeless, I looked at the clock 45 minutes into it, then at the halfway point at one hour actually put it on pause and took a nap. Though the acting is fine, with all the undercurrents suspected, you'd expect a livelier group, more histrionics, something to pick up the pace. Instead, there are long silent and ultimately pointless moments, when the film isn't supposed to be photography (and I appreciate cinematography just fine) but a motion picture. On the other hand, it's a movie on how a selfish and/or immature love is both destructive and ultimately a life force, and how cowardice has both its positive and negative contradictions as well. As different secrets amongst the members of one family could be tearing that family apart, denial has been the saving grace and practice and therefore the family stays together no matter what, with none of the members as happy as they could have been if they'd been honest or honorable or less determined to keep resentments old and current completely dormant as tiny conspiracies are forming like clouds over everyone. And geographical escape, also practised, is as bad a condition as denial, since it leads to the same conditions. Finally, a main reason to find a film boring is if the characters don't engage you, and I found this to be the main fault. November 4, 2005

Film does not dissapoint

Rarely does one see a film that grips the viewer from start to finish. American films lack the human values, the insights into character, the depth of feeling and understanding that motivate key characters. One wants to see more such films. American films, in contrast, rely on special effects, vulgar language, gratutitous sex, violence and sensationalism. Actors like Bruce Willis irritate me with their brazen arrogance, while Fernando Fernan Gomez brings the humanity of his role to life. This particular film will endure long after most current American pot boilers are forgotten. September 5, 2005

A story about absolution ...

This is a wonderfully different movie that addresses a complex emotional theme in a very creative manner. The story revolves around a large upscale Spanish family. Fernando Fernán Gómez plays the part of patriarch, who is diagnosed with Cancer. However, he is a reluctant patient and secretly flushes his medicines in the toilet. He is extremely paranoid about a candid conspiracy and talks incoherently about a fountain, a train, a city with no limits and a person called Rancel. This behavior forces his family member to believe that his mind is going senile. He finds some support in his youngest son, Victor (the very talented, Leonardo Sbaraglia).
Suspiciously, the symptoms of his father's cancer are not very distinctly obvious and yet his wife Geraldine Chaplin) and other two sons insist on him getting operated. They seem to be running with an ulterior motive of closing a big business deal.
Victor is very close to his father and decides to unearth the seemingly fictitious Rancel. Some clever investigation leads him to Rancel, who is a famous novelist and had been an underground republican during the troubled Spanish times. Rancel and Victor's father were planning a covert escape, but Victor's father backed out at the last moment (motivated by Victor's mother) leading to Rancel's arrest and incarceration. Victor's father couldn't forgive himself for quisling and lead a life of repent. He wants to relive the moment and save Rancel from getting incarcerated. Victor helps his father touch absolution before his death. The father-child relationship is very touching.

Each character in the movie has his/her own little story that has been mingled with the main storyline to perfection. Victor, himself is fighting a little battle between temptation (his brother's wife) and self-righteousness. His choosing the correct self-righteous path has been depicted in a very subtle manner.
The story, cinematography, acting and background score, have all been woven to near perfection by the director. Impressive stuff!! August 8, 2005

More reviews at Amazon.com ...