For a Handful of Kisses

To start with, we have seen this kind of story in different variations many times before. Nothing new or original here. The film itself is dull, nauseatedly predictable, pretensions and awfully acted. The dialogues made me want to vomit. It is appears the film was made with a hand held camera and it times the shaking was pretty bad. I liked Ana de Armas in Knock Knock. I thought she did pretty good in it. She is the only one in Por un puñado de besos who was trying to actually act, even then her performance is rather weak, overacting in many scenes. Everybody else could have been easily replaced by robots, it is THAT bad. Jan Cornet, as a leading actor is unbelievably bad, looking sad and wrinkling his forehead was all he could do. There is zero on screen chemistry between two leading actors, I mean absolutely none. So skip it, unless you are a 12 years old girl. No sex, violence or profanity in this film.

This is a strangely sweet and sad movie about a romantic and vibrant woman with a serious problem trying to maintain normalcy in her life, as she falls in love with a man that is suited to understand her problems or is he). Ana De Armas is charming and beautiful in this. It is no surprise she has gone on to be one of the biggest stars in the world. She has a natural screen presence, even back when this small picture was made. It deals with some serious issues in a good way. It is well shot, but it is clearly a low budget film. This is not so believable, but it is sweet in sports and upsetting in others. The film is Spanish with English subtitles.

A delightfully told story of a young couple, tracing the stages of their relationship as they struggle with a hidden threat.

The script is based on the novel "Un poco de abril, algo de mayo, todo septiembre" by Jordi Sierra i Fabra. It follows the relationship between Sol (superbly played by Ana de Armas) and Dani (played by Martiño Rivas) through circumstances which are anything but straightforward.

The story unfolded at a steady pace and drew me in as it went along. Perhaps a little predicable, nevertheless it was easy to feel that you were sharing in the joy, the sorrow and the uncertainties of the young couple. The camera-work throughout the film was superb, exploring to the full the facial expressions and emotions of the couple, their friends and their surroundings.

Anna de Armas was the standout actress in the film. Born in Cuba, she has such a beautiful and expressive face which portrays a range of emotions. Since moving to Los Angeles, she has become more widely appreciated and her acting ability and beauty will soon grace the screen in a star role in the upcoming release of Blade Runner 2049. Definitely an actress to watch.

Overall, this was a delightful film, well told and beautifully acted. It is one of just a few films that I really want to watch again - to relive and share in the emotions of the couple.

My score is 7.5 out of 10. Dialog in Spanish, watched with English subtitles. Definitely a film worth watching.