Review of Iris

Iris (2004)
5/10
An uneven and slow film about the consequences of the Spanish civil war
1 September 2023
Iris (Silke), a beautiful young photographer, leaves an unhappy marriage to a wealthy man (Abel Folk) of bourgeouis origin and returns to her mother (Martirio) in a village in Spain. The Spanish Civil War is raging, then Iris meets doctor Oscar (Ginés Garcia Millán) with whom she falls in love. Later on, Iris gives birth to her daughter, Agata, and Julian's mother, Rosario (Mary Francis or Paca Gabaldón), enters the story to assert her parental rights, contending that a divorce never occurred.

Dramatic picture about the consequences of Spanish civil war , being realized with academicism and general coldness. Downbeat and at times dull film with acceptable performances .¨Iris¨ results to be other of the innumerable stories to deal with dramatic deeds regarding the Civil War background . A familiar theme about the global horrors of a fratricide war, impossible to forget to our cinema. Rosa Vergés , also writes the script along with the historian Jordi Barrachina, filmed in her usual formal and stylistic scholarship , without leaving a trace the thought-provoking issues, in terms of dramatic and narrative excitement . Including a spotless pictorial cinematography and a willingness, almost perfect of the elements of each shot, every sequence, every space; the main problem has to face "Iris", beyond not being able to avoid falling into the usual pamphlet is precisely derived from the coldness of its staging, which eventually become monotonous over 100 min of runtime. Because the story needs a vibration more real than the one offered in this slow-moving and sometimes boring film. Stars Silke giving a so-so acting as the beautiful woman with an unfortunate life that is immersed in all kinds of fateful events. In the nineties she was one of the best-known actresses in Spanish cinema, achieving some successes interpreting films like Tierra (1996), Km. 0 (2000) y Almejas y mejillones (2000), Camara Fria (2003), La hora Fria (2006) and her greatest hits were Hola, ¿Estas sola?, and Tuno Negro . However, inexplicably and suddenly she decided to live in Ibiza and took an anonymous life.

But anyway, its is compensated with decent performances from Ana Torrent and Ginés Garcia Millán, interpreters who provided a considerable boost to the result. Rosa Vergés is a fine director of actors and the main players are well complemented by a good cast of secondaries, such as: Ginés García Millán, Nacho Fresneda, Mariana Cordero, Fermí Reixach, Mercè Pons, Miquel Gelabert, Paca Gabaldón, Abel Folk, forming a powerful human group of men and women giving adequate interpretations. The motion picture was mediocrely directed by Rosa Vergés who attempts to pay tribute to the victims of the Spanish civil war. This Spanish craftsman is a fine filmmaker, known for: Boom Boom (1990), Tic tac (1997), ? Para qué sirve un marido? (1997), Souvenir (1994) and Iris (2004). The latter movie got some nominations: 2005 Nominated Barcelona Film Award Iris (2004) Best Film; Ana Torrent Nominated Barcelona Film Award Best Actress ; 2005 Nominated Barcelona Film Award Best Director, Rosa Vergés; Nominated Best Screenplay Rosa Vergés, Jordi Barrachina and Málaga Spanish Film Festival Nominated Golden Biznaga Rosa Vergés.
0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed