Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Once in California

Author(s): Hugo Manso
Location: Spain


"Once in California"

Directed by Don Roos
Written by Paul Haggis

Main Cast

Rita Moreno .... Consuelo Valrubio
Anton Yelchin .... Juan Valrubio
Daniella Monet .... Elizabeth Johansson
Antonio Banderas …. Ignacio Valrubio
Vaneza Leza Pitinsky …. Carla Valrubio

Tagline: "N/A"

Synopsis: Consuelo Valrubio (Rita Moreno) remembers better days. Once her family was one of the most influenting people in whole California. Now she’s the matriarch of a middle-upper class family. She lives with her son, Ignacio (Antonio Banderas) and her grandchildren (Anton Yelchin & Vaneza Leza Pitinsky) in Berverly Hills.

She still remembers when their power went down. They were owners of a big wine company. Valrubio Wine was drunk by everyone. One day, a worker died. His family reported this accident to the police accusing Valrubio’s company. The incident became famous and eveyone talked about it. Tabloids, started to publish pictures of Valrubio’s family. Valrubio Wine was not drunk by anyone anymore.

Consuelo would never forget that name. Johansson, they destroyed her family. She’s sure that they’ve done it on porpouse. Juan Valrubio, Consuelo’s grandchildren, is more worried about dates than anything. He’s now thinking about going out with Elizabeth (Daniella Monet), a girl he’s just met.

Ignacio will never forget the people who made him lost the opportunity of become one of the most powerful man in California. He will go to any lenght to hurt that family as much as he can. He’s waiting to arise again.

Juan and Elizabeth would go out and have the best time of their lives. Juan would drive Elizabeth home. It would seem the perfect night but after say goodbye to each other, Juan would see the pillar box: Johanssons.

What the Press would say:

When it comes to revenge Rita Moreno knows how to use her skills. She’s the star of the film. A scene stealer. She portraits a woman who had the best and suddenly lost everything. She had to work very hard to hold her status. Moreno gives and incredible performance she’s just one of the best actress of her generation alive.

Antonio Banderas is also a very important figure of the cast. He’s just great. He portraits a man who lost his opportunity of become a powerful influeting person. He only dreams that his power will arise again.

The supporting field is also great. The young actors fresh up the film and all of them give career defining performances. To sum up: great performances plus great script plus great direction give us: Great Picture.

FYC

Best Picture (Drama)
Best Director
Best Screenplay
Best Actress (Moreno)
Best Supporting Actor (Banderas)
Best Supporting Actress (Monet)

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