Madre

Besides the movie being really great in the first 20 minutes, it shows a connection between a teenager (probably 16 years old) and a grown ass woman, wich is extremely weird. Surely if the movie was about grief and loss the way it looked like in the beginning I'd love it. But the way Elena doesn't ask Jean to cut out his flirtations is literally disgusting. The way Jules Porier's character was design to sound more """mature""" than any other teen (even his brother and his brother's friends who looked 20+) is exactly the argument pedophiles use when people corner them for being atracted to minors. I hate it. Everything about it was great except is a movie about a 39y woman who kisses a boy in the end. If i could give it less then 1 star I would.

Interesting premise with a riveting emotionally involving first scene that is so strong that the rest of the movie falls flat and goes through all the clichés of that years ago disappeared son kind of story. Worse the meeting of the two main characters feels fake and the relation alternates between friendship and unhealthy romance that gives an odd vibe instead of a touching walk through resilience.

When a six-year-old mysteriously disappears, his mother is left to pick up the pieces and work through her grief. But, a decade later, when an adolescent appears who reminds her of her missing son, she's captivated but unsure how to react, especially when he makes overtures verging on inappropriate, potential kinship notwithstanding. Such is the stage set in director Rodrigo Sorogoyen's latest, a compelling character study that starts out incredibly strong but loses its way the further one gets into the story, particularly in matters of pacing and narrative redundancy. That's unfortunate given the strength of Marta Nieto's superb lead performance, along with the film's atmospheric score and inventive cinematography. It's certainly commendable that this offering tries to plumb new territory with its storyline, but the finished product could use some much-needed spit, polish and pruning to bring it up to speed.

Overall, I thought it was a pretty good movie. The acting was excellent, good camera work and a good story. The reason I didn't rate it higher was that I thought the main character would have been more forthright with her young friend's family as soon as she knew they were worried over the relationship she had with their son. It was difficult for me to believe that part of the story.

both cringy and exhaustively drawn out...