MikePadgett.com

Solas

— Director: Benito Zambrano Spain, 1999 Ten minutes into Solas, I was steeling myself against the grim conclusion to which this film would inevitably descend.…”

• Director: Benito Zambrano
• Spain, 1999
• 

Ten minutes into Solas, I was steeling myself against the grim conclusion to which this film would inevitably descend. But I was wrongfooted by the virtuosity of the characters as they began to discover their own strengths.

Solas presents Spain without the colour of Almodovar, the mystery of Amenábar or the surrealism of Luna. It’s realism without the magic. Yet it’s also the very toughness of María that lends her unfailing appeal. The silence of María’s mother hides the latter’s incredible dignity. The needy old curmudgeon turns out to be a caring, determined gentleman. All the characters suffer, they have problems, they have idiosyncracies, but you can never write them off.

The realistic humanity of this film – in which small efforts are big achievements – probably explains its award-winning popularity with the audiences of various film festivals.