CINEMA: Andrew Worsdale
IN the last few years, Spanish cinema has enjoyed an unprecedented revival, thanks, in the main, to Pedro Almod_var’s amazing success on the international art-house circuit. His triumph was followed by, among others, Fernando Trueba’s Oscar-winning romance, Belle Epoque.
Trueba is executive producer on Emilio Martinez-Lazaro’s The Worst Years of Our Lives, and the film shares many of the romantic notions of Trueba’s infinitely superior film. The Worst Years follows the trials and tribulations of geeky-looking Alberto (nicely played by Gabino Diego), who has trouble picking up girls; his beefcake brother, Roberto (Jorge Sanz, who played the lead in Belle Epoque); and Maria (Ariadna Gil), a beautiful girl whom both brothers have set their hearts on.
It’s a sweet but naughty coming-of-age story, the kind of thing Franois Truffaut would excel in. But its mediocrity comes as a surprise, since it’s directed by a one-time student of director Jesus Franco, who gave the world such marvellously surreal Freudian kitsch as Female Vampire.
The treatment is far too cute — it’s all played like a Hallmark card — though there are a couple of funny moments. And apart from the fact that it’s in Spanish, the film is fundamentally no different to a Hollywood dating comedy, except this one adds a dollop of schmaltz and a bit of bad taste.