This movie is a hidden gem. I just watched it last night and still under its impression. The movie kept my strong attention from the first minute. The little boy's quiet suffering and loneliness brought tears into my eyes. His father got out of jail, but we still don't know why he was in jail. We wonder what is going on. Why the father reject the boy so much. Why won't he allow him to help him to cook. The story unfolds slowly shifting from present to glimpses of past. The acting was superb. All three main characters-the boy,his father and grandma put out solid performances. They boy's character is the most complex and the child-actor did not fail. It is almost at the end of this movie we are given an explanation of this family tragedy. Freakish turn of events that could not possibly be foreseen by anyone. They are all victims. But no one is at fault. It is like fate had payed a cruel joke on this family.
5 Reviews
A must see.
rosywharton7 December 2009
I had the privilege of seeing this excellent film with a friend of the Director who had been sent a copy. I knew nothing of the plot or the Director and his style and was totally absorbed from start to finish. I don't profess to be a well viewed film critic but, in my humble opinion, this film is cleverly conceived and executed. The acting and direction is raw and the storyline develops with snippets of comedy to lighten the way whilst tackling a difficult subject. The Director brilliantly plays on the viewers assumptions and has somehow created a piece of genius on (I believe) a negative budget. He highlights the damage that can be done through lack of communication profoundly. Why the 9 and not 10? Purely due to a handful of spelling mistakes in the English subtitles - if I were fluent in Spanish I'm sure it would be a 10. I would highly recommend watching this very thought provoking and moving film.
Gripping story of a boy and his father who has just been released from jail
chlozzer1 January 2010
The film moves at an excellent pace, keeping the viewer interested throughout. It is an emotional film and it is not clear where the film is going until the end. It is a well thought through story with fantastic performances, especially from the son. The story coheres together exceptionally well although if I was to criticise at all it may be that the reaction from others to father's behaviour is not quite as realistic as I would envisage. The grandmother also adds a very believable character to the story. I would recommend this to any adult to watch, and I hope they enjoy it. There is no hint here of any production constraints which is incredible when you learn that this film was made from nothing but people's generosity. A true gem in amongst so many films.
Brecha
ChrisOfficial5 July 2013
Brecha, a extraordinary creation by Iván Noel. Marvelous film and a great story-line sequence. A good performance by boy actor José Ramón Lafita he did great throughout the film and it would be great to see him in more films. Brecha tells a emotional story of a father and a son. The film had emotional and moving moments.
Iván Noel's film Brecha will inspire you and so will his other work. This one here is a must watch film. The picture is incredible and great performances from all the actors especially from José Ramón Lafita.
Brecha is beyond my number one favorite film by Iván Noel. You'll love this one and his other films. Great work.
Iván Noel's film Brecha will inspire you and so will his other work. This one here is a must watch film. The picture is incredible and great performances from all the actors especially from José Ramón Lafita.
Brecha is beyond my number one favorite film by Iván Noel. You'll love this one and his other films. Great work.
A must-see movie that deeply investigates the difficult relationships between fathers and children facing the traumatic events of our daily life
Didachos16 February 2024
Warning: Spoilers
"Brecha" is Ivan Noel's first film, I must say his best, and is set in Lebrija, a village in southern Spain. With the exception of Francisco Alfonsín (who plays Andrés, the father), the cast had no acting experience at that time.
José Ramón (played by José Ramón Lafita Narbona) lost his mum when he was a child: she choked on something in the meal and died.
Since then her beloved husband Andrés became an alcoholic; when Josè was 8 years old, his dad struck and killed a boy with his car while he was drunk and was sentenced to 4 years in prison.
Now Josè Ramon is 12 y.o. And he's thrilled because his father is about to be released from prison and coming home. Even though, after his mom death, his dad used to beat him and two years ago he had refused to see him for a prison visit, and the child had been very upset.
But now he's home coming and José Ramon has something very important to tell him.
During his father's imprisonment, Josè had lived with his grandmother (Andres' mother), without friends except for a black cat that the child had saved on the street as a puppy and called Satan.
After all, who would ever want to be friend with the son of a child murderer? Who knows, maybe he had even killed his wife!
Actually José thinks to have a friend, Dani, a boy three years older than him; but Dani isn't a real friend because he exploits the kid in order to stole newspapers and other small things and perhaps for other unspeakable things that we can only guess by seeing Josè putting his shirt back on after entering an abandoned house with Dani.
Anyway dad is home, that's the most important thing. Now they can start a new life, hopefully different from the previous one.
But things don't go as hoped: although Josè is a good son - he also helps him in the kitchen and with the housework - his father is always sad and doesn't talk to him much.
Yes, one Sunday Andres takes Josè to the lake, but things goes wrong as soon as Josè mentions his mother. Everytime Josè do that, his father gets really angry: it almost seems that Andres blames his son for his wife's death.
One sad day, José loses his only friend: at school Dani is caught with a stolen phone and, since he is of a criminally age, he blames the theft on Josè, also saying that the boy uses to steal newspapers and brings them to befriend him.
When the school principal tells him Dani's words, Josè is really upset; the woman shouts to him that Dani is a good boy who cannot lie because he is from a good family while everyone in the village knows Josè's family. So Josè understands that it isn't useful to tell the truth - which is that the bad boy is Dani - and takes the blame on himself.
Furthermore, a bad night Josè is very angry with his father who had scolded him heavily; he returns to his room and kicks his cat because he want to vent his anger. Josè immediately understands that he made a big mistake being violent like his father with an innocent creature, but it is now too late: the cat has escaped. The day after Josè and Andres find Satan killed by a car.
At that point Andres tells his mother that he can't bear to stay with his son: he tried but he didn't succeed because it's not possible to live with someone who took away the person you loved more than anything else.
We thus discover that Josè's mother was accidentally dead because her little kid had stuck a tiny toy inside a meatball while he was helping her cooking. She had told him that the Christmas cake have a little surprise inside and the boy wanted to give her an early love surprise.
So the things are now clear: Andrès can't stand his son because he caused his wife death - altough it was accidentally and he was just a little kid - and he can't tell him that. Better to leave him with his grandmother; better the boy hate him for that. But he can't live anymore with him.
Andres and his mum have a huge argument and the woman tell his son that she loves the kid but she raised him up when his father was jailed, now is him that must deal with that.
And after all he must forgive the kid because it wasn't really his fault.
Later Josè and Andres have a bad argument too and Josè runs away.
When he returns, his father scolds him, yelling at him to go to grandma's; Josè begs his father to let him in because he has to tell him something very important. What sort of thing? In tears Josè confesses that it's his fault if his mother died; he was the one who killed her.
The father asks him how he knows that and the boy replies that he heard grandmother tell the story two years ago to a friend of her.
Andres can't believe it: how could a 10-year-old child carry such a burden on his shoulders? How could he bear his guilt for two years, without asking anyone for help and living his sad life this way?
At that point Andres ubderstand that had been selfish and had gotten to the point of not being able to stand his son because of what had happened when he was just a kid.
So a breach opens in his wall of pain (the breach of the title, in fact) and Andres embraces his son who is still in tears, assuring him that from now on life will change for both of them.
Overall a must-see movie that deeply investigates the difficult relationships between fathers and children facing the traumatic events that fate could bring in our daily life.
The skilful use of flashbacks makes us witness the involution of this unfortunate family: when the mother and wife were still alive, it was a happy family that gathered even to cook simple meals; after her death, the family dissolves almost suddenly with the two remaining males barely speaking to each other, until the outbreak of violence which brings destruction to the lives of the two.
The film makes clear that the son is the best man of the two, because the he forgave his father for all the times he beat him and for not having been able to process a loss that was not only his own loss but also for his child. A passive attitude that leads the man in prison.
As for the acting, a special mention deserves the young protagonist José Ramón Lafita Narbona whose deep melancholy he expresses in every moment of the film, arouses in us sympathy, closeness not merely compassion.
And the rare times we see him smiling in the film, it is the smile of life, of the joy of life that his character has not lived for years, at least from the death of his mother until the confession made to his father which changes their relationship forever and positively.
José Ramón (played by José Ramón Lafita Narbona) lost his mum when he was a child: she choked on something in the meal and died.
Since then her beloved husband Andrés became an alcoholic; when Josè was 8 years old, his dad struck and killed a boy with his car while he was drunk and was sentenced to 4 years in prison.
Now Josè Ramon is 12 y.o. And he's thrilled because his father is about to be released from prison and coming home. Even though, after his mom death, his dad used to beat him and two years ago he had refused to see him for a prison visit, and the child had been very upset.
But now he's home coming and José Ramon has something very important to tell him.
During his father's imprisonment, Josè had lived with his grandmother (Andres' mother), without friends except for a black cat that the child had saved on the street as a puppy and called Satan.
After all, who would ever want to be friend with the son of a child murderer? Who knows, maybe he had even killed his wife!
Actually José thinks to have a friend, Dani, a boy three years older than him; but Dani isn't a real friend because he exploits the kid in order to stole newspapers and other small things and perhaps for other unspeakable things that we can only guess by seeing Josè putting his shirt back on after entering an abandoned house with Dani.
Anyway dad is home, that's the most important thing. Now they can start a new life, hopefully different from the previous one.
But things don't go as hoped: although Josè is a good son - he also helps him in the kitchen and with the housework - his father is always sad and doesn't talk to him much.
Yes, one Sunday Andres takes Josè to the lake, but things goes wrong as soon as Josè mentions his mother. Everytime Josè do that, his father gets really angry: it almost seems that Andres blames his son for his wife's death.
One sad day, José loses his only friend: at school Dani is caught with a stolen phone and, since he is of a criminally age, he blames the theft on Josè, also saying that the boy uses to steal newspapers and brings them to befriend him.
When the school principal tells him Dani's words, Josè is really upset; the woman shouts to him that Dani is a good boy who cannot lie because he is from a good family while everyone in the village knows Josè's family. So Josè understands that it isn't useful to tell the truth - which is that the bad boy is Dani - and takes the blame on himself.
Furthermore, a bad night Josè is very angry with his father who had scolded him heavily; he returns to his room and kicks his cat because he want to vent his anger. Josè immediately understands that he made a big mistake being violent like his father with an innocent creature, but it is now too late: the cat has escaped. The day after Josè and Andres find Satan killed by a car.
At that point Andres tells his mother that he can't bear to stay with his son: he tried but he didn't succeed because it's not possible to live with someone who took away the person you loved more than anything else.
We thus discover that Josè's mother was accidentally dead because her little kid had stuck a tiny toy inside a meatball while he was helping her cooking. She had told him that the Christmas cake have a little surprise inside and the boy wanted to give her an early love surprise.
So the things are now clear: Andrès can't stand his son because he caused his wife death - altough it was accidentally and he was just a little kid - and he can't tell him that. Better to leave him with his grandmother; better the boy hate him for that. But he can't live anymore with him.
Andres and his mum have a huge argument and the woman tell his son that she loves the kid but she raised him up when his father was jailed, now is him that must deal with that.
And after all he must forgive the kid because it wasn't really his fault.
Later Josè and Andres have a bad argument too and Josè runs away.
When he returns, his father scolds him, yelling at him to go to grandma's; Josè begs his father to let him in because he has to tell him something very important. What sort of thing? In tears Josè confesses that it's his fault if his mother died; he was the one who killed her.
The father asks him how he knows that and the boy replies that he heard grandmother tell the story two years ago to a friend of her.
Andres can't believe it: how could a 10-year-old child carry such a burden on his shoulders? How could he bear his guilt for two years, without asking anyone for help and living his sad life this way?
At that point Andres ubderstand that had been selfish and had gotten to the point of not being able to stand his son because of what had happened when he was just a kid.
So a breach opens in his wall of pain (the breach of the title, in fact) and Andres embraces his son who is still in tears, assuring him that from now on life will change for both of them.
Overall a must-see movie that deeply investigates the difficult relationships between fathers and children facing the traumatic events that fate could bring in our daily life.
The skilful use of flashbacks makes us witness the involution of this unfortunate family: when the mother and wife were still alive, it was a happy family that gathered even to cook simple meals; after her death, the family dissolves almost suddenly with the two remaining males barely speaking to each other, until the outbreak of violence which brings destruction to the lives of the two.
The film makes clear that the son is the best man of the two, because the he forgave his father for all the times he beat him and for not having been able to process a loss that was not only his own loss but also for his child. A passive attitude that leads the man in prison.
As for the acting, a special mention deserves the young protagonist José Ramón Lafita Narbona whose deep melancholy he expresses in every moment of the film, arouses in us sympathy, closeness not merely compassion.
And the rare times we see him smiling in the film, it is the smile of life, of the joy of life that his character has not lived for years, at least from the death of his mother until the confession made to his father which changes their relationship forever and positively.
See also
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