Horst in Translation ([email protected])
"Guten Tag, Ramón" is a 2-hour feature film from 2 years ago and it was written and directed by Jorge Ramírez Suárez and stars Kristyan Ferrer. I have to say I am not familiar with either. However, I do know Adriana Barraza from "Babel" of course. In this film here, we get to witness a young man's journey to Germany. You could almost call it a road movie. I personally felt that this was not really about Rámon, but about the people he meets and what their lives look like. The title kinda confirms this as this is said by somebody who meets him. There's dramatic moments in here, funny moments and some decent emotion from start to finish. I must say I never saw any real greatness that inspired me to watch this one soon again, but there are also no weaknesses in here. It's a very competent film. Solid acting, good script, convincing direction. All in all, I recommend the watch and I cannot say I am really surprised with all the awards attention this film got. Thumbs up. Oh yeah, one final note, there are several languages in here. So, unless you are fluent in both German and Spanish, make sure you get subtitles.
CleveMan66
How many Mexican-German co-productions can you name? Yeah, this one was a first for me too, but I'm VERY thankful to writer-director Jorge Ramírez Suarez that he has brought us "Buen Dia, Ramon" / "Guten Tag, Ramon" (PG-13, 2:00). This is a surprising story and an absolutely wonderful film! Here's a phrase that you've probably heard used many times in movie reviews, but has never before appeared in one of mine: "This IS the feel-good movie of the year!" The two versions of the film's title mean the same thing in Spanish and German: "Good Day, Ramon." The title character (Kristyan Ferrer) is a young man from a small town in Mexico. Ramon is willing to do almost anything to help provide for his mother and his sick aunt (Arcelia Ramirez and Adriana Barraza). He has tried five times to cross into the U.S. (the final time, with devastating results for his fellow travelers), but has been arrested and sent back home each time. As Ramon is bemoaning what he sees as his latest failure, he hears about a friend's aunt who went to Germany, got a job and has been wiring a significant amount of money back to her family. Ramon doesn't speak a word of German and doesn't even know where Germany is, but he's desperate. He approaches a local gangster about buying a plot of land Ramon owns and, through an unfortunate set of circumstances, gets the money for a plane ticket to Germany.Ramon sets out on his journey with just a backpack and detailed directions on how to use buses, airplanes and trains, and, ultimately his two feet, to find his friend's aunt in the central German town of Wiesbaden-Biebrich. Never having taken such a trip before, Ramon is nervous, easily confused and, when he gets to Germany, cold. But he soldiers on. He makes it to his destination on the banks of the Rhine River, only to be told – in German – that his friend's aunt doesn't live there anymore and then the door is slammed in his face. Ramon literally has nowhere to go. A phone call back to Mexico is less than productive and he now seems hopelessly alone.Ramon starts spending his nights sleeping in the train station and his days on the streets begging for spare change so he can buy a little bit of food from a friendly clerk (Franziska Kruse) in a small grocery store. He also makes a little money helping local senior citizens carry their groceries home. That's how he meets Ruth (Ingeborg Schöner). She gains Ramon's trust, pays a young woman to translate a few basics and decides that she needs to help Ramon. Ruth sets up Ramon with a place to sleep in the basement of her apartment building, and arranges for him to make some money that she helps him to wire back to Mexico. Ramon does odd jobs around the apartments and even teaches the building's residents to dance the merengue. Unfortunately, not all of the seniors in the building are happy with this arrangement. A stingy and bigoted old man (Rüdiger Evers) wants Ramon gone and… Well, that's as far as I can go without resorting to spoilers."Buen Dia, Ramon" / "Guten Tag, Ramon" is a simple pleasure that no one should miss. Yes, it's a foreign film with subtitles, but that shouldn't dissuade anyone from seeing it. After all, the whole point of the movie is that friendship and love have no language. One of the most touching scenes in the film is a dinner between Ramon and Ruth in which he talks about what's on his heart and she reveals pain from her past that she has never spoken of before. The whole time, he is speaking Spanish, she is speaking German and neither understands the other's words, but they are communicating in a way that many people without language barriers never manage.This film is not without moments that are difficult to watch, but it is without pretense. The characters (especially Ramon) endure frustration, sadness and even tragedy, but none of that ever brings them down for long and they never lose sight of their humanity – or the humanity of others. The hard-won joy that Ramon experiences is infectious, as is his positive attitude and his lack of guile. As a frequent moviegoer, I kept expecting the story to take some dark or cynical turn, but I was very pleasantly surprised. While this film explores a range of emotions, in the end, I was just very happy to have experienced it. When I left the theater, I did something that I had never done after a movie. I watched the rest of the audience members exit the auditorium. I saw smiles – more than I've ever seen after a movie's credits rolled – and even a few tears."Buen Dia, Ramon" was made in 2013, was a surprise hit in Mexico in 2014 and has started 2015 with a limited release in the U.S. This is the little movie that could. It could surprise you, it could entertain you, it could touch you and it could even become one of your favorite movies of the year… but only if you give it a chance. Do yourself a favor. See this film. It could end up being one of the best things you've done for yourself in quite a while. "A"
pablop64221
This is a fine movie related to the universal immigration "problem", but this film was solved with a very good script and intelligence for a nice history that makes feel great to all the viewers, giving a message of hope and friendship almost forgotten in the actual world ,it is a very, very fine history that you must see, regarding the "humanity" of certain people, leaving every kind prejudging when somebody has another language, history, customs, etc. but with a international "carisma" and a lot of good attitude for the others mainly old people. The Photo was excellent, the acting was OK. and Ramon it is a real discovery for the Mexican young actors in cinema of this days, the Director is superb in some scenes showing with their "heart" some of the Mexican feelings in a situations as they were filmed in the movie. Is a real surprise to find the cinemas totally sold out in more than 4 weeks since the red carpet for showing to the public here in Mexico City
alessiohagen
I have seen the movie in an international film festival in Mexico, AMAZING!!!Great rhythm, photography, acting, script very international about migration and opening doors with international language of respect and love.A Mexican from Durango drop out after 5 times being deported on the way to USA, then a friend convince him to go to Germany looking for an aunt that will help him in Germany. A script where digital maps does not exist and immigrant has instructions included in a notebook paper. A beautiful story about why and how people migrate, but also how everybody can find help even without speaking same languages.
