Road to La Paz (2015) User Reviews

Good road movie with a nice touch of heart

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 12 June 2018]

"Camino a La Paz" is an Argentinian Spanish-language (with contributions from the Netherlands and Germany) film that runs for 90 minutes approximately and had its world premiere already back in 2015, so it took almost 3 years to get here. Wow, way too long if you asked me, but the (unintentional) wait was worth it I guess. You could certainly say that. It is the first and so farf only big screen effort for writer and director Francisco Varone and certainly a respectable start for him. I cannot say I am familiar with any of the cast members here, but South American audiences or fans of South American movies like Diarios de biciclea may beg to differ. After all, the main character is a BAFTA nominee. Really surprised to see this is apparently Ernesto Suarez' veryfirst performance in a film given his age. What a time to start for a rookie. Anyway, this is as the title already gives away the story of a man who travels to La Paz. Actually, two men as the driver, out protagonist, takes the old man on a long journey where the latter hopes to meet with his brother. It's never really about if they will get there eventually, but all about the road itself. About the friends they make, the gangsters tehy run into, the dogs they meet etc. The film is basically what you could expect here. A nice ounce of situational comedy like the scenes about the man pretending to have a boss or be part of a larger enterprise. My favorite funny scene was the moment the old man mentions the dog coming to pull open the other man's zipper. That was one hilarious laugh-out-loud moment for sure. Apart from that, it is really all about the drama though, about the journey and the young man's change in mind most of all, a key component that worked nicely overall I'd say as this was really crucial for the plot. The one moment where you could see how the film is mostly hitting the right notes was the scene about the old man trying to turn the young man into a muslim. The young man tries it, but just cannot get through with it. It's not him and that is way way better than them actually pulling through with that idea. It's not what the film is about at all. The best dramatic scene nonetheless is probably the one at the very end, the story the old man tells the young man about the mountain climber struggling for his life. An extremely powerful moment and one of the best, most touching scenes of 2018. Offers a lot to discuss and this scene was really memorable, not just because the young man's bursting to tears immediately afterward. So overall, this was a good film that reaches greatness not often enough for me to recommend it as one of the very best 2015 (2018?) films, but I certainly think it is worth seeing for everybody who likes road movies with a bit of a spiritualistic component. I also think the (actress who played the) wife made a decent impact early on despite how little screen time she had, but she made the most of it and had good chemistry with De la Serna too. Maybe here and there there is a moment that does not feel right like the dramatic parts where he is angry about wanting to ride on with the chubby woman in the car out of nowhere and him threatening to cancel the entire journey, but these slightly over-the-top moments are more than made up for with the heart and soul you will find in this film, for example the garlic story or the ways in which material values become less and less significant the longer they are together, like the loss of the money to the gangsters or the broken-down car that initially had such a vital role for our "hero". So yeah, watch this one, preferrable in the Spanish-language original with or without subtitles depending on your talent in this beautiful language. This movie of course gets a thumbs-up from me. Classic indie stuff.

Wait a sec!!!!

[bojancupo · 29 June 2022]

Francisco Varone, remeber that name, hermanos. What a movie, my goodness! As jazz performers use to say, perfect mixture of heart and soul energy with an eclectic way of making a movie.

So desperate because small number of people saw this masterpiece, while every US *hit you can find everywhere, youtube interviews, bla, bla... I can't find some nice songs, about interviews, hey, mission impossible. Recommend to all adorers of mixture - arty, road, adventure, religious, drama-comedy movies.