DVD Review - Cleopatra
Cleopatra is a lovely little road film directed by the late Argentinean filmmaker Eduardo Mignogna who died just last month (October 6) at the age of 66.
Cleopatra (the wonderful Norma Aleandro) is a retired school teacher who lives in Buenos Aires with her ultra negative husband Roberto (Hector Alterio). Roberto was laid off from his job over two years ago and has given up on doing anything. He spends most of the day in bed or watching television. Cleopatra tries her best to find ways to make money but it isn't easy. Their daughter moved to the United States with her husband and children. And their son moved to Spain. So they just have each other.
Cleopatra always wanted to be an actress but Roberto wouldn't allow her to follow her dream (her father was the director of a Shakepearean theater company). One day Cleopatra goes to an audition for a part in a soap opera and there see meets the star of the show who is named Sandra (Natalia Oreiro). Sandra feels a great deal of pressure from her manager/boyfriend Francis (Boy Olmi) and she is ready to break loose. When she meets Cleopatra in the bathroom she tell Cleopatra to contact her any time she wants to. After another bad day with Roberto Cleopatra goes over to Sandra's place. Sandra is ready to leave the city and Cleopatra decides to go with her.
This is a road movie that is filled with warmth and humor. A number of things happen to the two women that gives them (and us) a lot of food for thought. Yes, some of what happens seems to be a bit improbable. But so what? It is only a movie and I certainly learned something from it. Along the way Sandra meets a lovely man named Carlos (Leonardo Sbaraglia) who isn't really impressed with her star power but treats her like a real person. I came away from the film thinking about how many of us spend our lives doing what we think we should do rather than what we want to do. At the very least we should give ourselves the time to think about the difference.
Just a note - at the time of his death Mignogna was getting ready to make a film with Javier Bardem and Ricardo Darin. One can only wonder how wonderful that might have been. But I will recommend that you see another one of his films on DVD - El Faro (starring Darin) - which I reviewed in June. This week I will see another one of his films entitled Autumn Sun (Norma Aleandro is also in this one) but this film is not available in the US DVD format so I will not write a review because most people will not be able to see it. RIP Eduardo Mignogna.
Cleopatra (the wonderful Norma Aleandro) is a retired school teacher who lives in Buenos Aires with her ultra negative husband Roberto (Hector Alterio). Roberto was laid off from his job over two years ago and has given up on doing anything. He spends most of the day in bed or watching television. Cleopatra tries her best to find ways to make money but it isn't easy. Their daughter moved to the United States with her husband and children. And their son moved to Spain. So they just have each other.
Cleopatra always wanted to be an actress but Roberto wouldn't allow her to follow her dream (her father was the director of a Shakepearean theater company). One day Cleopatra goes to an audition for a part in a soap opera and there see meets the star of the show who is named Sandra (Natalia Oreiro). Sandra feels a great deal of pressure from her manager/boyfriend Francis (Boy Olmi) and she is ready to break loose. When she meets Cleopatra in the bathroom she tell Cleopatra to contact her any time she wants to. After another bad day with Roberto Cleopatra goes over to Sandra's place. Sandra is ready to leave the city and Cleopatra decides to go with her.
This is a road movie that is filled with warmth and humor. A number of things happen to the two women that gives them (and us) a lot of food for thought. Yes, some of what happens seems to be a bit improbable. But so what? It is only a movie and I certainly learned something from it. Along the way Sandra meets a lovely man named Carlos (Leonardo Sbaraglia) who isn't really impressed with her star power but treats her like a real person. I came away from the film thinking about how many of us spend our lives doing what we think we should do rather than what we want to do. At the very least we should give ourselves the time to think about the difference.
Just a note - at the time of his death Mignogna was getting ready to make a film with Javier Bardem and Ricardo Darin. One can only wonder how wonderful that might have been. But I will recommend that you see another one of his films on DVD - El Faro (starring Darin) - which I reviewed in June. This week I will see another one of his films entitled Autumn Sun (Norma Aleandro is also in this one) but this film is not available in the US DVD format so I will not write a review because most people will not be able to see it. RIP Eduardo Mignogna.
posted by Film Fanatic | 3:53 PM
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