En Tu Ausencia

This is a gritty, real film. Prudes may not want to watch. The official movie trailer is very misleading. The quality of the video is exceptional. The Spanish countryside is awesome. The acting and direction is superior. The plot has enough twists and turns to make Alfred Hitchcock jealous. At the price this vendor charges, it is a must-have, especially if you are a Hitchcock fan. As one who grew up with a terrible "Dad", and have been repeatedly assaulted due to nothing more than rumors, I can really identify with this film. Just order it!

What starts out seemingly as an intergenerational love story between a shy, lonely 13 year old living with his mother in the Spanish countryside and an older man just passing through eventually becomes something else altogether. I compare this film favorably to Wild Tigers I Have Known, another coming of age story told in long, painterly takes, except that this movie, with the help of its filming locations, is even more beautiful to look at. Quick research tells me that this is the director's first film, and I can only hope there is more to come. The acting is wonderful, especially considering that most of the young cast are novices. A truly heartbreaking story which refuses to give a pat Hollywood ending (though some sense of closure would have been nice, but that is my only gripe). I found myself so taken with Pablo in this story, and wanting him to heal the wounds he is carrying around with him. In the end, we don't know whether he does or not, and that was more tragic than all that had come before. If you love a deep story, great and pristene images of Spain, and a slight but well crafted mystery, then do not miss this film. Spread the word!

If I had any pre-conceived notions about this film before I watched it, they were completely blown out of the water by what I saw. Paco comes to a small village in Spain, and finds himself stranded on the roadside when his car breaks down. By accident or by design, he first meets Pablo. Pablo's father has recently been killed in an accident that Pablo very much blames himself for. So when Paco is kind and understanding, it only serves to remind Pablo of what a cruel and unforgiving man his father had been. Paco manages to develop a relationship with the boy, while keeping up the pretence that he's come to this village to find Pablo's father, who was an old Army buddy. Meanwhile, the entire village is buzzing with gossip about this stranger in town, and his odd attachment to a thirteen year old local boy. Pablo, at thirteen, is confused by his adolescent sexual feelings. His friend Julia, a bit older and more sexually mature, presents young Pablo with his first sexual encounter, and that only serves to deepen Pablo's confusion. But he begins to realise that his attraction to Paco may be more than parental. He's developed something of a crush on the kind stranger. So he decides to offer himself to the older man, and is surprised when his offer is refused. His confusion about Paco is cleared up when he discovers the man in bed with someone else, and overhears their conversation, where it is explained that Paco was indeed a friend of Pablo's late father. Something I don't think Pablo had quite believed. And Pablo's heart is broken to find that Paco is in love with someone else in the village, not him. In a fit of jealous rage and deep pain over being deceived, Pablo decides to shoot Paco with his father's shotgun. The film ends with a scene depicting Pablo and Paco years later, as Paco tries to explain that he has forgiven the boy. But what seems evident is that Pablo has not forgiven Paco for the apparent deception. He seems to have grown into a sad and lonely adult. And we are left to wonder whether he ever sorted out his sexual identity. EN TU AUSENCIA is filmed in the most beautiful locations, with a brilliant cast, and surprisingly well put together for a low-budget, independent film. I highly recommend this movie.

I have a neighbor who makes and produces independent films.... I do see a lot of indie films.... and the common thread to them is they seem very believable in their story, like you are watching as a fly on the wall of a situation.... not watching "actors". I read saw the commentary by the director who said there was no script as such, only a story board apparently. Well you sure wouldn't know that from the presentation. I did not see a disclaimer in the closing credits about no animals being harmed during the filming..... or maybe I just didn't see it. The chlld main character did certainly take "chances" as they say when filming... Probably because Europeans tend to deal with nudity and sexuality much different than uptight America does. Maybe another reason why non American indie films are more viewed as seeing a real appearing depiction of life, shall we say.The ending was not especially clear, at least to me as to what transpired from the incident near the end of the period of time when the boy is younger to the final scene of him now older......

This beautifully filmed and acted offering tells of a youngster whose father has died in circumstances which become clear eventually, and who encounters a seemingly kind man with whom he forms a friendship and in whom he hopes to find a surrogate father. It looks at first as if this is going to end in tears, and so it does, but not for the reasons one expects: for there are deceptions and mixed messages aplenty. Ultimately the boy is betrayed by this man, and also by his mother; and though the villagers try to protect him he is on his own. A gem of a performance from the boy, as also from the rather older and more mature girl who is all set to show him what sex is all about, to his confusion. I don't think this is a coming-of-age film so much as one of love and betrayal. Beautiful, at times life-affirming, but finally sad, I loved it!

Ordered this dvd from Amazon and the disc would not play. I requested and received a replacement and it too did not play. I am assuming either these disc are bad or they are on a format not playable with american dvd players.

very good!... the story surprices you. Small mistakes but you forgive that :)

This film was quite a disappointment to me. From the very beginning, it was clear that the photography was going to be clunky and amateurish, and it was. The sound was OK, and fortunately the subtitles were very good. The story was of the rambling variety - I could have gladly edited out 20 minutes of the film. To its credit, the DVD has a Making Of Commentary, which helps pinpoint the beautiful region of Spain where the film was shot. The main story was interesting enough - and the 13 year old boy, Pablo, was a sympathetic character. The tension created between him and Paco, "the stranger with a past" was quite interesting, but the film's climax bordered on the ludicrous. This film would have been a success on Argentinian or Mexican television, but I can't recommend it here. Sorry, but I have to pull the ladder on this one.

Un film qui fait réfléchir

This DVD was bought sight unseen, being an Amazon recommendation following my purchase of another DVD with a similar theme. Set in rural southern Andalusia (between Cadiz and Seville), the film tells the interesting story of how young fatherless Pablo sees the arrival of outsider Paco into the village as a father-substitute. The villagers suspect Paco of less-than-innocent intentions, and the viewer will sympathise as Paco and Pablo become close. But all is not what it seems, as the denouement reveals. I will say nothing else, in case I spoil the plot. The disc comes with a commentary in English by the (French?) director and Francisco Alfonsin (who plays Paco), although the director tends to dominate and fails to explore some of the interesting issues that Alfonsin raises. We fail to learn in the commentary why the film was made and what are the origins of the story that is told. Whilst the director has gone on to make three more films (at the time of writing) - all involving adult/child themes - the boy who plays Pablo (Gonzalo Salas) has not made any more, which is a shame as he seems a natural actor. What we do learn in the commentary, however, is that Ivan Noel's main job is as a musician. He got into film through composition. This was his first film, shot supposedly with no budget and no production team (but the lengthy credits at the end tell a different story). But he says there was no make-up, no artificial light; just a cameraman and sound engineer. And only two of the actors (Paco and the actress playing Pablo's mother) are professionals. Noel says his technique was not to work from a script; he prefers spontaneous performances. He would therefore tell the actors just before each shot what to say and what to do. The result is lots of improvisation, but the use of untrained actors can lead to some embarrassingly bad dialogue performances. And the camerawork and sound is sometimes dodgy. The film seems to have been shot using a handheld camera on video rather than on film. (Ten minutes into the movie my partner asked me if this was an amateur movie.) The resulting film therefore shows a number of deficiencies that merit three stars. For example, the film could have done with some more editing. However, I am giving it four stars because the shots of the local landscape are often very beautiful: the flora and fauna, the clouds and skies are very good, as is the music composed by Ivan Noel. Good use is made of the contrasts produced by the natural light and there is some very good framing devices employed too. There is an additional extra, an unnarrated ten-minute `Making of' which covers rehearsals, location-scouting, casting, and behind-the-scenes shooting.

I have been sent a DVD with the label on for this film, but when played it is something completely different - a documentary about a US-fundamentalist christian visit to a Gay Pride parade. They see Satan everywhere, apparently. So I can't say much about "En Tu Ansencia".

J'ai choisi ce film parce que je l'avais déjà vu et je souhaitais le revoir , mais malheureusement il a été censuré et c'est ce qui fait baissé la note que j'airai pu lui accordée .