entire family goes on a trip to attend a particular event which is important to one of the family members. Shown in bright colours, Familia Rodante gives you this feeling of warmth, not just because of the close family ties, but also of the beautiful scenery. Especially at the beginning of the film Trapero really knows how to capture the hectic familylife by showing a lot of different shots and making lots of cuts which give the beginning of the movie a fast pace. Then when they finally are on the road the pace changes a little and becomes a bit slower, digging deeper into the family relations. Even though these family problems seem interesting, they didn't really add much to the film. Altogether the main focus is the journey to the wedding and the family ties. But the issues that the family deal with aren't all that interesting. Therefore I felt the beginning of Familia Rodante was really soothing, as was the end, but the middle took kind of long and had storylines in it that were a bit boring and could have been more interesting if dealth with in a different way. One of the things I thought should have done differently and in my opinion would have improved the film, would have been to put more focus on one family member instead of showing just bits and pieces of a lot of them. When the movie starts you expect the main focus to be on Emilia, but during the middle of the film attention goes out more to the rest of the family and less on Emilia. But in the end, however, focus is put on her again. I wished Trapero had brought her more to the forefront, since she is the person who keeps the family together and tries to resolve the problems. During the middle of the film you could hardly really grasp of what she thought of all the family issues, she didn't have much screentime and when she did she just made a brief comment and nothing more. Instead I would have liked to have her had a big scene in which she really tried to resolve things and make the journey more hers. Because after all the journey is all about her, but after the beginning you don't really get that feeling anymore. Also none of the other characters really stand out. You had the son and daughter from different parents who went on to have this relationship that went further than just friendship and the boy's mother apparently had a brief relationship with the girl's father. Then there was also the daughter of the mother who had a boyfriend, Claudio, who didn't treat her right. But their presence was just not enough and there was too much switching between all these different characters to really make you have allegiance with them.What is it about?
At her birthday old Emilia, who's the grandmother of four, receives news from her sister who's daughter is about to get married. Now that almost all of the family is together at her birthday, Emilia finds it the right time that they all go on a trip together and attend the wedding. Emilia has to go, because she's chosen to be a witness and it has been a long time since she last visited her sister's family. Together with the families of her two daughters who are both married and have children, Emilia leaves all her animals in the hands of a friend who has to take care of them while she makes her big trip. Together in a big camper they set off on their journey from Buenos Aires to Misiones. Once
on the road issues in the family rise up. It turns out that one of Emilia's daughters has had an affair with the husband of her own sister and Gustavo the oldest son not only has eyes for the friend of his niece, but also for his niece Yanina herself. It turns out Emilia's family isn't one without serious issues. Now all they have to do is make it to the wedding on time and safely without hurting each other. Only Emilia seems able to mend her family and not make them fall apart.Final Verdict: ***1/2
Even though Familia Rodante is a nice film and a good attempt at making a roadmovie I feel it could have been much better. The camerawork was nice, with lots of close-ups translating the feeling of being on the road in a small camper to the audience, but the little storylines concerning the family problems just weren't interesting enough to keep the story going and too little focus on just one character made some of the characters just not engaging enough. After a while you just want the family to arrive at the wedding and are fed up with having to see the
family on the road all the time, which isn't a good thing. The cast however did a great job and especially the young actors look very promising. Their acting was very authentic and natural. Where in a film like Little Miss Sunshine every character had real development, in Familia Rodante none of them really had the chance to evolve and as a viewer you never really felt you really knew them. Still famila Rodante is a very enjoyable film with some really nice moments. The acting is nice as is the lovely music. It is just too bad Emilia didn't get much more attention, because she is by far the most likable character and more focus on her could have made for a much better movie.
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