Odelecol
Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
Bob
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
robobobotic-31291
Magical Girl is a very well shot movie. The cinematography is brilliant and overall nothing of the visuals is a problem.The biggest problem with this movie is how convenient everything is. I get that Louis as a father would actually fulfill the wish of his daughter, Its not that dis-believable. But the lengths he goes to achieve it. can be questionable. But that's not really the problem I have with this movie.Barbara's illness for which she takes medications for was never explored. While you can try to make the excuse that "It's left for interpretation" (which YMS did on youtube), Its not really an excuse because you are literally implying that I should guess what's wrong with her. This is not how you make me care for a character. Why does she have these scars on her body? Never explained. While I find it convincing that she would help Luise once, I find it hard to believe that she will go to such lengths, in his second "favour" with the 20k euros (which I honestly find It too convenient that just an accessory would be that much more than the costume itself). It doesn't make sense. Like she's literally risking her life and screwing it up as a whole, just so she can remain with her husband. It just doesn't make sense to me. It seems like a complete convenience for this edgy plot that this movie Is going with. Not to mention "THE DOOR" ritual thing (which just literally came out of no where.). Now for the 3d act. After Barbara is completely screwed up and her life destroyed, due to her own ridiculous decisions (lets remember that she decided to sleep with Luis. Lets not pretend that didn't happen.). She all of a sudden wants revenge now.OK, the part that really made me mad and just seriously made me hate this movie is the scene in the cafe with Damian and Luis. So you are telling me, that when Damian threatened Luis with the gun, Luis will just decide to respond with "Bitch"? Are you serious? Like, they literally had the whole time in the world in that cafe to discuss what exactly happened. This is what really made me really angry. He presented that whole phone blackmailing, in really the most conveniently horrible way possible. It doesn't make sense for me, that this would happen, when the guy is clearly smart enough to not throw his life like this.So, this is how I feel about this movie. For me Its a really "edgy" and It hides its convenient plot in its "deepness".
ma-cortes
This San Sebastian winner Magical Girl was well played and compellingly directed by Carlos Vermut . It's not hard to recognize tales that have been reverse-engineered , those that fashion individual roles and contrive to bring those disparate souls together in the most convenient way possible . Far more weird is the story that begins from a center and organically evolves , unwittingly capturing its ancillary players . Carlos Vermut's "Magical Girl" certainly feels like the latter , developing sad events by means of an intriguing as well as thought-provoking atmosphere . It stars with Luis Bermejo and Barbara Lennie ; star Jose Sacristan also top-lines . The impetus for all of this intrigue is a sudden hospital visit for Alicia (Alicia Pollan) , a 12-year-old girl living with leukemia and she dreams to have a dress of a famous Japanese series : Magical Girl , Yukiro . Her father Luis (Luis Bermejo) learns that Alicia is terminal (a detail never explicitly stated but delivered in the first clear example that Vermut is in complete control of his story) . After Alicia is released , he stumbles across Alicia's diary, discovering her wish to own a dress identical to one worn by her favorite anime star . When the price tag results out to be far beyond his dwindling savings , the daddy attempts to get it at whatever means . Because of this last wish he will meet a disturbed girl (Barbara Lennie) and a retired school professor (Jose Sacristan) . 'Magical Girl' is a razor-sharp flick of unintended consequences . This is an interesting film , it is both an asset and a weakness of Spanish director Carlos Vermut's sophomore feature , an elaborately contrived, imagination-dependent dark comedy/drama that operates through sleight of hand , misleading into following a preteen leukemia patient's dying wish while it assembles another , far more sinister secondary narrative deep in its viewers' collective subconscious . The picture relies heavily between relation between an obstinate dad and his daughter with terminal cancer , both of whom weaving their troubled lives together with ample sorrow . Rare flick , its has a few gaps and is slow moving , but anyway, it is compensated with the great performances . Good acting from Luis Bermejo as unfortunate father of an ill girl tries to obtain her daughter last wish , to get the dress of the main character of a Japanese TV series and Barbara Lennie gives a splendid portrayal of a emotionally affecting young woman . Special mention for Jose Sacristan , a veteran actor who was born in 1937 , Chinchón, Madrid . He is an magnificent actor and occasionally director, especially known for Un Lugar en Mundo (1992), Éste Es Mi barrio (1996) and El Viaje a Ninguna Parte (1986). He is married to also actress Leonor Benedetto. Other important films he performed are the followings : Un Hombre Llamado Flor de Otoño , Niñas.. Al Salón , Reina Zanahoria , Acto Posesión , Asignatura Pendiente , Hasta Matrimonio Nos Separe and Parranda . In addition , Sacristan directed three acceptable films : 1977 Yo Bajo en la Próxima, ¿y Usted? , 1987 Cara Acelga and 1983 Soldados De Plomo . Confirming the emergence of an original voice able to reflect on the impact of Spain's crisis while constructing scenes of a near Tarantino-esque tension, "Magical Girl" nabbed seven Goya Noms . However , Alberto Rodriguez's thriller Marshland was the clear winner at the 29th Goya Awards, Daniel Monzon's El Nino, which had been nominated in 16 categories, won four technical awards, while Carlos Vermut's Magical Girl only landed the top actress for Barbara Lennie's portrayal of a emotionally fragile woman . Besides , this deliberately "wrong" cult offering (which won prizes for best film and director at San Sebastian . The motion picture was originally directed by Carlos Vermut . Vermut comes to cinema from a background in comic-book illustration, and though he brings a strong visual sense to his big screen work , including his low-budget debut, "Diamond Flash" , though he previously made some successful Shorts .
JvH48
Saw this at the Rotterdam film festival 2015 (IFFR). In short: Unbalanced and illogical all over. Apparently hoping that the feel-good aspects of the story let us overlook all its faults. Anyway, It did not jerk any of my tears.The narrative left more than a few uncharted fields, and focused on other things that I deem mere side-ways. Important aspects of the underlying drama are not revealed to us, like why Barbara's past is so scary for Damian, and what her "psychological" issues exactly were (quote from IFFR website) or why she is a "disturbed girl" (quote from IMDb). The magical trick we see in school, in one of the openings scenes, is not enough to connect the dots later on. Similarly unclarified, we see how Damian reacts on Barbara's phone call, but leaving his defiant attitude devoid of any explanation. He seems just scared for unknown reasons. And near the finale, after learning how Barbara and the girl's father met and (!) that he stayed overnight, he freaks out, even to the extent that his attitude towards the father turns 180 degrees, all of that still for reasons unknown.That the father goes at any length to fulfill his ailing daughter's last wish, may be understandable as this is what parents do. But what we see happening here is certainly over-the-top. He does not even make an attempt to verify whether her wish still exists, as this could have been a short-lived dream from years ago. I admit that I'm trying to be rational here, but I never was a father, so what do I know.Finally, I am prepared to overlook how very coincidental our three protagonists meet each other. It is convoluted, but it could have happened this way, including the loose piece of the jigsaw puzzle lying on the street. On the other hand, the time devoted to all these side-ways would have been better spent on extra background information on the three. The synopsis on the festival website was a required read, yet insufficient to grasp all of the drama that enfolds in two hours time. We are withheld from being pulled in by the story, and also are being prevented from identifying ourselves with either one of the main characters, not even with the father who would be the obvious candidate for our sympathy.
Ajit Tiwari
This film begins as a fairly common story, a story that in times of crisis anyone can feel absolutely identified. Luis is an unemployed literature professor who is barely able to make his end meet. He wants to fulfill the last wish of his 12-year-old daughter Alicia, patient of terminal cancer. Alicia wants an expensive dress of Japanese cartoon series "Magical Girl Yukiko". On the other hand, the film introduces us to Barbara, a young woman who suffers from mental disorders and Damian a retired teacher doing time in jail. Three people in extreme conditions seem to move in a parallel universe where violence and pain dominate, but in a poetic way. In the universe of Vermouth, everyone is guilty and everyone is innocent. Magical Girl talks about violence and sadness using the rules of a film noir, with many subtle references of Japanese cinema.It would be easy to fill pages and pages about the virtues of "Magical Girl", but it is a little complicated to do without uncovering some of the many surprises of the film. Because in reality, it is much more than a story where lives intersect and the storm broke. It is a framework where the details are taken care to detail. The music appears only when it is needed.Jose Sacristan, Barbara Lennie and Luis Bermejo not need more than one scene to explain the most accurate descriptions of screenplay. Lucia Pollan, a revelation, it is amazing to see her purity and innocence overshadowed by the situation.What is bad, however, is that all these mixed ingredients in the same bowl can roll back to a kind of niche audience more accustomed to these kinds of films. As for the end, it is open to many interpretations, which can leave the viewer confused, but will give us the opportunity to look, to find our own explanation to what is happening.Magical Girl talks about violence and sadness using the rules of a film noir, with many subtle references of Japanese cinema.
