Familia Rodante Review

Familia Rodante
An Argentinian family, led by the 80-something Grandmother Emilia, set out on a two day trip by camper van to attend a family wedding on the other side of the country. Family drama ensues.

by Patrick Peters |
Published on
Release Date:

18 Nov 2005

Running Time:

103 minutes

Certificate:

15

Original Title:

Familia Rodante

Director Pablo Trapero apparently hoped this trans-Argentinian odyssey would show both how today's happenstances become tomorrow's memories, and how differently the young and the old approach life. However, these laudable intentions have slipped somewhere between his mission statement and the screen – what remains is an overly familiar collection of domestic crises crammed together in a rickety camper van.

Even worse, this record of the misadventures of octogenarian Graciana Chironi and her family en route to a wedding on the Brazilian border encompasses so many viewpoints that it's impossible to get to know the sketchy characters - and when your film is essentially a character study, that's disappointing.

The cast is as spiritedly naturalistic as Guillermo Nieto's cinematography, but there's no sense of place (let alone insight), and for a road movie that's a fatal flaw.
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