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gabrimelul
Reviews
Intouchables (2011)
One of the best foreign films I have seen to date.
This review is mainly a critique, not of the movie, but of the American Movie Reviewers.
To start off, i'm not from the United States, I'm from Spain. There have been good TV shows and music coming out of spain for years, but films is the one thing we cannot do, due to all films having to be comedies which a part of them are not understandable by international (specially American) audiences due to the politics and very vast culturl differences.
You may think that had nothing to do with the critique, but it does more than you think. Just like Spain, France does have a very different culture, being even one of the European countries with most differences to the United States. Most of the critic reviews i've read about this film state things that are true in the states when talking about social class levels, but when it comes to France, it is completley different.
This films is very captivating, and incredibly emotional, one of the best foreign fils I've seen in years, comparable to 2019's Parasite (not as good), and 2018's Roma.
Also something that may bias me, it that i have seen this movie religiously, and knowing a basic french understanding helps.
If i were to reccomend 3 french films these would be the order:
1) Intouchable
2) Le Choristes
3) Les Miserables (2019) {Not the musical}
The Upside (2017)
This remake could have been good
Don't hire these actors for this type of movie: Kevin Hart is completely unnecessary and Bryan Cranston is not fit for this role. The story is missing a lot from the original, and itch changed with extremely cheesy one liners.
Please do not watch, watch Intouchable instead.
Merlí (2015)
Best Catalan TV has to Offer
Merlí, the best show Spanish TV has to offer. This brilliant series follows a philosophy teacher and a handful of his students during their bachelorette years of high school (the last two years).
A teacher that is unorthodox, captivating, and sincere to his students.
Everyone that watches this show has to remember it's meant for a Spanish audience, this means: Public school systems in Spain are horrible compared to the US, Philosophy is a mandatory class to pass, and the majority of low socioeconomic status families are the ones described by the show.
It's a truly amazing show, showing social, economic, and most importantly personal problems.
I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll finish the review right here. Do watch this in Catalan with subtitles if necessary.
I do want to state, I've lived in Barcelona for the majority of my life, and I know the cultural context too well.
Anims Peripatètics
Polseres vermelles (2011)
Technicalities don't really matter
This show is grounded on realism on a different way that many other shows. Instead of being a show about the doctors, their patients and their day to day life at a hospital, this 28 episode excellence gives us a melancholy Catalan style drama about a group of six unforgettable characters and some other minor characters. I've read other reviews about this show as a whole, and I've noticed the majority are talking about technicalities: some patient isn't hooked up to a monitoring machine, etc.
But the question is, does that really matter?
No, it does not. I will never compare this to a big budget show like House, because this is truly a special experience, there is no show like this one.
The North American remake of this show: Red Band Society, isn't even close to this one, given the rules of Spanish TV vs US TV. Do not watch the remake.
I've heard that the German remake is really good and does a better job with the technicalities, but this is the original.
If you are to watch this show I would recommend you watch it in Catalan with subtitles, I've watched it in both Spanish and Catalan (in that order) and the original version is much better.
"Apa, Polseres Amunt"