The Birthday (2004/I)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Eugenio Mira

Writers:

Mikel Alvariño (writer)
Eugenio Mira (writer)

Release Date:

10 November 2006 (Spain)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The four of us ....Let's do it.

Plot:

Norman, a young man very much in love with his girlfriend, attends her father's birthday party, held in a hotel where a sect happens to be preparing for the birth of the god it worships. |

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Corey Feldman	...	Norman Forrester
Erica Prior	...	Alison Fulton
Jack Taylor	...	Ron Fulton
Dale Douma	...	Vincent Papahistros
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mikel Alvariño	...	Bass Player
Jim Arnold	...	Jonathan Beresford
Harry Arouh	...	Priest
Ana Lucía Billate	...	Anjelica Fulton
Tony Corvillo	...	Vincent's Friend
James DePaul	...	Tiny Ricky
Richard Felix	...	Theodore Burns
Sue Flack	...	Marion Beresford
Alison Hughes	...	Mrs. Emma Hamilton
Chen Min Rao Jang	...	Dr. John Ming O'Pie
Liz Lobato	...	Madeleine
Robert Long	...	Manager
Rolf Master	...	Bar Tender
Stuart McLauchlan	...	Suite Waiter
Rick Merrill	...	Casper Fulton
Inma Mira	...	Yulia
Colin Morgan	...	Killer Waiter
Carlos Navarro	...	Guitar Player
Bert Palmer	...	Nigel
Oliver Sala	...	Keyboards
Craig Stevenson	...	Waiter Z
Alejandro Tejerías	...	Elmer Brannigan

Runtime:

100 min | 95 min (original cut)

Country:

Spain

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Terrasa, Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Company:

Arcadia Motion Pictures

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Los Totenwackers (2007)

A new hope

I also got to see the movie at Sitges and I am perplexed. I agree with my Italian counterpart on the "love or hate" stance but I believe that the movie still has to grow on us all. The tempo is awkward but it's compensated by the brilliant sound and camera movements that keep us inside the movie's technique, something I believe Eugenio Mira intended for when he made the movie. I would say once again that it is too soon to judge "The Birthday" when, for now, it is heading to be a cult movie, indeed similar to Donnie Darko (my all time favorite), that has still to be seen and compared to similar movies that are trying to grasp a new style of cinema that young filmmakers are trying to institute in the new millennium. Last but not least, I want to point out that the actors are great specially taking into account the fact that the movie was made on a low budget in Spain. Corey Feldman makes me wonder why he disappeared for a decade from mainstream movies ( "The Birthday" looks like one of them, anyway...) but I believe that with this movie he has a made a great comeback playing a role that suits him well and that probable only he could represent. Check it out dudes! THE cult movie of the year (and it's only just started!)