Mal día para pescar (2009) Reviews

• Probably the most unforgettable Spanish language film I've ever seen

  socrates992011-04-20

  I was having a bad day. Rented out both Skyline and this movie, and though Skyline was not nearly as bad as rumored, I'd be much prouder to have directed Bad Day. The two leads, Gary Piquer and Jouko Ahola, the manager and wrestler respectively, are magic together. There was no mistake making their relationship the heart and soul of this film. They essentially rode into my memory without triggering the slightest hesitation on my part. Gary, Prince Orsini, is a bit of a huckster though it's clear he's had some breeding. Jouko as the champion, Jacob van Oppen, is everything he should be, physically and emotionally. He's a massively muscled German, I think, whose best days are behind him. There's a world of humanity in his eyes though his life is being severely circumscribed by his handler and his quickly fading youth. They go town to town challenging the local toughs for a prize they don't even have. They're barely scraping by. And then they visit Santa Maria, where the local tough, The Turk, is no push over. His betrothed is desperate for him to win enough for their wedding. Antonella Costa as The Turk's intended, Adriana, is every bit as skillful and unforgettable as the two main leads and in some ways, the whole film rests on her performance. This is a real find which I intend to pass on to others whenever I get the chance. It's not flashy or grandiose but it nevertheless is totally affecting. I marveled at how effortlessly it was played out almost as if everyone involved were born to play their part.

• Fabulous--literally--hints of fable, a deep and subtle friendship, and a colorful world...great!

  secondtake2012-11-19

  Bad Day to Go Fishing (2009) What a terrific movie. It's filled with a slightly improbable, likable, colorful quality you have to watch even if you don't quite care. But you do eventually care. You want these quirky main characters to somehow succeed. Even if you don't know how they can do that. It's set in South America, but in an unanchored place called Santa Maria. (Could be anywhere, but much of the filming took place in Uruguay.) The main two characters are a pair of scam artists with good hearts and somewhat simple methods. One is an impresario with a flair for convincing people of things. The other is an aging wrestling champion from Germany (of all places--this is Uruguay, right?). And so the two of them enter this town with their usual plan. Except that their method of having a show and winning a finale match-off with a local big man wrestler gets off track when the challenger is a seriously huge and buff young man. And he can't be bought off. This is enough, but it hardly does justice to the huge array of really convincing and slightly exaggerated figures. There is the newspaper man, wise and quickly savvy to what's going on but willing to let it unfold on its own. There is the first challenger, who turns out to be perfect, and a drunk. There is the woman who wants to get married above all and needs the money. There is the town itself, filled with nostalgia--it feels like it's set in 1970, maybe, with old cars and old ways, and no cell phones or modern connections that might change the feel of it all. There is the idea of a strong man and wrestler in the first place, played by a rather woeful drunk himself. And there is the impresario, played brilliantly by Gary Piquer. He holds it all together, sad and wickedly charming and seemingly intelligent. He seems to have a good heart and yet he's scamming the town. And maybe (at times) leading on his main attraction, who also is his best (and only) friend. In fact, this becomes more and more a movie about the relationship the two traveling men have together. It takes a turn, convincing and emotionally satisfying, at the end. There are shades (in the most abstract way) of how the two leads related in "Midnight Cowboy," so that it's not the circumstances that win the day, but these two flawed and beautifully interesting people. This movie took me by surprise. I'm not sure why it gets so many low ratings. My suggestion is to go into it without expectations, and to let the characters slowly build. And to enjoy the scenes--the set design, old cars, and general lost in time quality is great all by itself. This is one of the best movies I've seen in awhile. Give it shot!

• Excellent Film

  at70002011-12-11

  First off, I take issue with the description of the film, where it states- "Jacob van Oppen, the former strongest man on earth, and his manager Orsini, who calls himself "the Prince", make a good living by traveling around small South American towns and organizing wrestling exhibitions." Wrong. They do not make a good living. They are living a precarious existence. Jacob, a shadow of his former self and Orsini, a con-man who does not even have the 'mil dolares' to back up and finance his bets. They are leading a terrible life, are both alcoholics, and both know it. Orsini is a self-described Italian Prince, but no one dare ask what he is doing, taking seedy bus trips, promoting a washed-up wrestler, all over South and Central America. In any case, it's an excellent film. Jacob has become brain damaged from his years of wrestling and self abuse, he has reverted back to the mental state of a child. Not only that, he is bi-polar or has other mental issues which he takes medication for. As if that were not sad enough, Jacob also has some serious health issues. Although it has many comedic moments, it is nonetheless a sad film. It takes place in a fictional, back-water, town in Uruguay, in 1962. The acting and cinematography are all top notch. Jacob is somewhat devastated when he finds out the Orsini has been "fixing matches for him" and hand-picking opponents that insure Jacob wins the matches every time. The ending is brilliant and everything leads up to the final match at the end, where due to events in the town of Santa maria, Jacob must face a very tough opponent.

• Great First Film ...

  SteveJ_8882011-03-23

  An excellent first feature for director Alvaro Brechner. The strong writing and acting create characters that are believable and richly developed with subtlety and detail, but are not at all transparent. The viewer is invited into their experience yet still kept somewhat at a distance. What is innermost remains inaccessible as events unfold and build toward a climax. The film strikes a nice balance between character study and suspense. There is a simple plot – the film does more that just paint a picture, though that aspect in itself would be enough to make this a decent film. The visual elements serve the story very well – dark colors support the emotional content perfectly. The world that is portrayed is not glamorous, but lived-in and decadent. Two very different perspectives are evident in the film – the feeling of life on the road for the wrestler and his manager, and the poverty and boredom of the local people. Excellent costuming also helps define the characters and their environment. This film succeeds where many others that build toward a single event fail – it creates an emotional investment for the viewer – but one that may be ambiguous. Ultimately the characters are somewhat ambiguous themselves – but not due to any concealment on the part of the filmmaker. The characters simply are that way. We can't penetrate them or know their inner motives. The film makes a point – but it is far too subtle and enjoyable to be called a "message" film. The point is that events are easily understood - people aren't.

• The wrestler

  jotix1002011-08-31

  An aging European wrestler, Jacob Van Oppen, has seen better days. We find him with Prince Orsini, a seedy promoter, as they come into a small Uruguayan town. Orsini, who claims he comes from a noble Italian family, is an unscrupulous wheeler-dealer who operates on the premise that a sucker is born every day. He wants to stage an event in which Jacob will fight anyone for a prize of one thousand dollars, if Jacob loses. In order to create interest in the fight, Orsini goes to the local newspaper where the editor is sympathetic to the idea of a challenge. His paper serves to generate hype for the event which will take place at the local theater on a Saturday. Orsini, realizing his wrestler is in bad shape tries to get a local man to go through the motions and let Jacob win. The scheme backfires on him when the man proceeds to get drunk with the money he got for the bribe. There is someone that is really interested in getting the prize money. She is Adriana, a woman that figures her strong companion, Turco, will defeat Jacob. Adriana figures her man is younger, stronger and in better shape than the European. At the same time, she has her doubts Prince Orsini is on the level. She wants to see the money before the thing gets out of hand. Orsini, who has no means to pay anything, counts on the proceeds from the gate to make some money. Not content with that, he decides to try his hand at gambling at the local tavern, a poor choice, as it turns out he loses what he had. Trying to appeal to Jacob to skip town on an early bus, has the opposite effect. Jacob's pride is hurt; he wants to fight, plus, unknown to his manager he has the funds to pay off if he loses. Director Alvaro Brechner's first full length film surprises by showing a fine style and by infusing the story with the necessary suspense to keep the viewer interested in the amazing finale. The director adapted Juan Carlos Onetti "Jacobo y el otro" with some help from its star, Gary Piquer. The result is one of the most satisfying films that have come from Uruguay in recent memory. Mr. Brechner involves the audience without any tricks or superfluous incidents in the narrative. The film is original in that it does not rely in tried formulas despite the fact one has an idea how it will play at the end. An intense Gary Piquer, whose resemblance to American actor Harvey Keitel is remarkable, steals the film and makes it his own. The actor does not have a false moment, he is that reptilian person living from the faded glory of a man that is no longer in his prime. Mr. Piquer is perfect as the man without scruples who will stop at nothing to get what he wants while sucking out the life of a man that is no longer what he was. Others in the film include Jouko Ahola, a Finnish actor that does great work for the director. Same can be said about Antonella Costa's Adriana, the calculating woman who does not care about what happens to her man. Alvaro Brechner shows a great talent and one wishes him to go far in his future endeavors.