The first hour or so of ‘The Flag’ is hilarious, almost irresistible. Four characters (a father who seems to be like a cowbell, two sons who are ready to kill and the young biographer of the first), a very pretty house and a Sunday at noon that promises to be happy around the table and appetizing rice with rabbit Martín Cuervo, who already demonstrated how to move in a small space (the interior of a car) in the hilarious ‘With Who You Travel’, films a piece by Guillem Clua, adapted by the author himself, injecting agility and good rhythm into a classic plot of rivalries, deceptions and tensions around an inheritance, a continuous combat full of biting dialogues and ferocious retorts with, in the background, a critical and sardonic political-social commentary (that flag always out of screen, wicked macguffin). The cast is impeccable, led by an immense Imanol Arias who does not lose steam even when he has to make a fool of himself dressed as a Tyrannosaurus Rex. It’s a pity that in the final part things soften, they opt for concord, they go from poison to custard
For enthusiasts of comedies with few characters and a lot of verbal fencing.
The best: the brilliant bad temper of the dialogues.
Worst: the not at all credible and very annoying sentimentality of the outcome.
Data sheet
Address: Martin Crow Distribution: Imanol Arias, Ana Fernández, Miquel Fernández, Aitor Luna Country: Spain Year: 2024 Release date: 6-14-2024 Gender: Dramatic comedy Script: Guillem Clua Duration: 89 min.
Synopsis: A father, two children and a dinner. The story takes place during a family evening, where Tomás calls his two sons, Jesús and Antonio, to give them important news. The patriarch, accompanied by his biographer, Lina, takes his time to tell them what he really wants, but his descendants begin to lose their nerve. At one point, one of the children discovers the presence of a huge flag in the garden, sparking a dispute that seriously endangers the apparent family harmony.
Strange batracian creature with a body marked by celluloiditis and a gourmet of exquisite delicacies (Chaplin, Renoir, Ford, Hitch, Spielberg…) whose diet does not exclude the pleasures of the neighborhood tavern (the Corman galaxy, the masked Santo…). And since 1981 he has been determined to make it clear in writing.
