By Kim Choe
The thought of a whole film based around meals, and Spanish ones in particular, had my mouth watering before it even started.
But 18 Meals made the mistake of opening with a voiceover much too reminiscent of the videos from my university Spanish classes. Rather clinically, it told me exactly what would unfold over the next 101 minutes, and what I would learn from it.
Then the voiceover vanished, never to be heard again. It was replaced by the early-morning warbling of street musician Edu who, disappointingly, was just as blatantly obvious at setting the mood of the scenes he introduced. Subtitles could be partly to blame for the clumsiness, but the general sentiments were cringe-worthy enough.
Once things got going though, I was able to appreciate what writer/director Jorge Coira was trying to achieve in his debut feature. It’s an ensemble piece, with characters and narratives converging and diverging throughout.
The film’s three acts are divided into mealtimes – desayuno (breakfast), almuerzo (lunch), and cena (dinner). Each is nicely paced and well-edited, giving a sense of the hustle and bustle of a day in a small Spanish city.
The bulk of the drama takes place over lunch – fittingly, the biggest meal of the day for Spaniards. Victor struggles to reveal his homosexuality to his acerbic brother Juan; unhappy housewife Sol tries to start an affair with her old flame Edu; and Vladimir continues his futile efforts to woo the mysterious Laura, who never turned up for breakfast.
These main characters are well thought out and insightfully portrayed – they’re charming, funny, and deliciously flawed.
But the real danger of this ducking-and-weaving method of storytelling is also very present in the dilution of other characters, and an excess of narratives. Many would have been better left untouched.
18 Meals is a skilled piece that’s a little rough around the edges. It feels real and raw, but my hunger wasn’t as satisfied as I’d hoped it would be.
Three and a half stars.
13 Meals is playing as part of the Spanish
Film Festival.
3 News
18 Comidas (18 Meals)
:: Director: Jorge Coira
:: Starring: Luis Tosar, Federico Pérez Rey, Victor Fábregas, Esperanza Pedreño
:: Running Time: 107 mins
:: Rating: M - offensive language
