Continually surprising that Chile, one of the least represented of the Latin American countries, succeeds in turning out such good films. (Spoilers contained.) Padre Nuestro is a charming and consistently interesting study of the relationships of two sons and a daughter coming together to visit their dying father in hospital, together with the elder son's second wife. The father's marriage long having ended, his longtime lover has finally come to the realization that she has been wasting her time and must leave. One superb scene in a restaurant is done in one take, in which the frigid daughter, unable to enjoy the physical side of her own marriage, derides her brother's second wife for refusing to bear him children, only to discover that her brother is the one who refuses to father them. The stability of their marriage is inevitably threatened. The tone of the movie is not at all downbeat as there are many entertaining and amusing moments. The younger son is persuaded to steal an ambulance so his father can revisit one of his old watering holes and visit a local brothel. When the two brothers, sitting in the brothel bar discussing their past rivalries, discover their father has disappeared, they immediately go in pursuit. In a Felliniesque sequence the father is simply exploring the city he has lived in for so long, drinking in its many pleasures. Finally reconnecting, the father demands that his sons take him by ambulance to the small town by the sea where he grew up. His nostalgia surfaces in an amusing story of how he lost his virginity to a nun. The daughter, bringing her mother for a last reunion with her ex-husband, together with the brother's second wife, learns where the father is headed and arrives as the old man dies in his sons' arms. For one last brief moment the family is together.
Excellent direction by Rodrigo Sepulveda, with a wonderful sense of movement. Impressive direction in the single take sequence in the restaurant. A touch of Fellini with the accompanying music score, which is consistently good. While the subject matter would appear to be downbeat, the music lifts the tone so that it becomes touching rather than depressing. A very nice movie from a Latin American country that has yet to score big in the international market. Worth watching.
