July 14, 2004 -- “Solas” (Alone) is a great little slice-of-life film about a relationship between a mother and daughter in a dysfunctional family forced together by an illness to the father. It features great insights into lonely people, families and relationships. It also has a twist at the end that seems to come out of nowhere, but is delightful nonetheless.

The story takes place in Spain where the mother, warmly played by María Galiana, comes to stay with her estranged daughter, Maria (played by Ana Fernández), while her husband (Paco De Osca) recovers in a nearby hospital following an operation. The older couple is from the country and are ill at ease in the city where the daughter lives. María doesn't respect her mother because she is dominated by her abusive husband, but her own life isn't any better. She works as a maid and has a relationship with an abusive man who uses her cruelly. She is also an alcoholic. While staying in her daughter's apartment, the mother drifts into a friendship with a lonely widower who lives in the same apartment building. The widower, Vecino (Carlos Álvarez-Novoa), lives alone with his dog, Achilles, who seems to have more sense than any of the people in the apartment building.

María's father, who is recovering from his surgery, suspects something is going on with his wife, and reasserts himself. A sour and jealous man, he seems consumed by the desire to make sure nobody in his family has any happiness whatsoever. María begins to have some respect for her mother when she sees how strong her mother is in bearing the weight of her awful relationship with her husband. At the same time, her mother is still filled with love for her daughter, and she shows compassion for Vecino, too.

Although María can't bring herself to confide in her mother when she faces her own moral crisis, she is able to absorb some of her mother's vast strength and she is able to make a connection which helps alleviate her own loneliness. The film starts out as a very bleak depiction of a dysfunctional family, but it ends somewhat more upbeat than that. It explores deep places in the heart of María and her mother. While two of the men in the film are heartless and cruel, two other men in the film, Vecino and a bartender friend of María's are basically decent people, so the film is not entirely one-sided in that regard. It is not one of those films which depict all men as scum. It is a powerful film in its depiction of love, loneliness, despair and redemption. It hits a lot of universal themes, and hits them right on target. The acting is excellent by the entire cast, with standout performances by María Galiana, Ana Fernández and Carlos Álvarez-Novoa. The screenplay, by Benito Zambrano, is also excellent, especially the great twist ending. This film rates a B+.

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Copyright © 2004 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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