El menor de los males (2007) User Reviews (2)

Excellent dark dramedy and political commentary

[Agnelin · 15 April 2009]

"El menor de los males" is a mix of Spanish/black humor comedy, familial drama, thriller, and social and political commentary, and it is very fitting for the current political situation that is sadly common in Spain and, I believe, in all the Western world. It clearly shows the view that the common people have of politicians and people of power, and to do so, the director chooses a genre that is very dear and typical of the Spanish spirit and way-of-being: the realistic satire, with lots of dark humor, irony, sarcasm, and comedy that goes sour just like that, but all with a clear purpose in mind.

The movie starts almost like a comedy, and in fact contains quite a few light-hearted and overtly funny situations along the way. It is set in Julia's house -she's a good-natured woman, in her 50s, and a writer. She suddenly gets visited by Eduardo, her younger brother, an up-and-coming and very ambitious politician in Madrid, with his assistant and his two bodyguards. He tells her that he needs her house because he's going to have a "meeting" with his lover, a very young actress. Julia immediately notices that there's something strange going on, something that goes beyond the secrecy of an adulterous affair, and she will soon enough get involved in a web of lies, betrayal, and dark affairs.

"El menor de los males" is a movie that is best seen and understood nowadays -but it will probably not get outdated in a few years either. It is a little slow at the start, but it picks up speed, and the denouement is quite well resolved -although there's something quite crucial about it that I didn't like, more precisely one of the characters doing something out-of-character which, in my opinion, makes the whole ending a little unbelievable. However, this is a problem which I will gladly overlook, because I think this is an overall good movie, and a certainly nice surprise for those of us who keep expecting something better from the Spanish movie industry than the usual load of careless and completely unnecessary films that pesters our movie theaters and video stores.

My score is 8/10.

If this was a Greek Tragedy, I would have given it a higher rating

[tjdercks · 2/10 · 5 January 2010]

... but set in modern times, the story was just too creepy and confusing

I normally do not review movies, but since I watched this based solely on its high IMDb rating, and the few reviews listed here, I felt it was necessary to give a different perspective. The story is based on numerous lies, so depending how you follow that trail of lies, you may think it is a good story? The movie has very good acting and cinematography ... but the confusing story, and the unsympathetic characters make it not worth watching.

The only way to justify my 2 rating is to be a 'Spoiler' ... so if you do not want to have the story spoiled, please stop reading, and skip the movie ... or watch it, then come back to my review

There is not one character that by the end you wish survives ... from the dog that bites everyone, to the daughter who knows nothing about her own famous father (does he have a metal plate in his head or not? Was he an Ambassador? She knows how to type, but clearly can not read a newspaper, or Google ... lol) ... they are a family of liars, and those who have learned not to pay attention to those lies There are too many stories going on: At first we are lead to believe a famous married Politician, in his late 40's, picks up a 21 year old woman at a party, and after dating 2 years she wants him to divorce, and marry her, because she is pregnant ... or she is 18, and they met 6 months ago, and not pregnant, and Black Mailing him to stay together ... or Oedipus-like ... she is 17 (so possibly 15 when they met), and she picked him up, and had sex with him, to destroy his life for leaving her mother, after he got her mother pregnant (i.e. he is her father) We never know in the end ... but it is most likely the Oedipus story Then add in the many things that made no sense: Why get a dog for companionship that is vicious? ... and why did they feel the need to add a scene to kill it? How do you search a house twice for photos, but not find a man hiding in the house? Why did they leave the girl wandering the house alone, after you know she is out to destroy you? How do laxatives kill someone in less time than it takes to cook dinner? How would a Flash Card survive stomach acid? Who disposes of numerous bodies in a water well in your back yard? Why did the body guard point the gun at everyone in the end? ... and who shot him, or did he kill himself? I could go on and on about how confusing, illogical and disturbing this movie was ... but after spending all the time watching it, and this time writing about it ... I am moving on with my life, and suggest you skip this movie, and move on with yours too