Rolling Family (Familia rodante)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: B-     Extras: C+     Film: B-

 

 

Road movies are usually about getting away from families and other restrictions, unless they involve families, then they are usually phony comedies that don’t work.  What makes writer/director Pablo Trapero’s Rolling Family (Familia rodante, 2004) is that it is funny, not phony and a very believable film about a family going to a wedding while having several complications and developments along the way.

 

It is not a perfect film, yet it is interesting to watch as it unfolds and does not follow the formula associated with such films.  A Buenos Aires family decides to take a very old camper and ride nearly a thousand miles to the wedding, while also honoring the matriarch of their family in the process.  With families more apart than ever, the screenplay is smart in how it plays on this continuing disconnection.  It is a pleasant film that has a nice flow to it and the people always come across as real.  The critics may have overrated it a bit, but for as bad as such films have been since the 1980s, the reaction is understandable.  It is definitely worth a look.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image was shot in Super 16mm film by cinematographer Guillermo Nieto and looks good here, though any detail limits seem to be more from the transfer than the format used.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is a little better than the 2.0 Dolby, but dialogue based, with good ambiance throughout.  Music is here and there, but not overdone, including licensed songs.  Extras include the Argentine and U.S. theatrical trailers, a making of featurette, weblinks and previews for more interesting Palm titles.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo