Gaspar (Gabriel Díaz) is a director of low budget horror flicks with
no real artistic aspirations, and since the death of his brother in an
accident, he's suicidal (though not very good at it). At one of his
suicide attempts, he is saved by Alvaro (Diego
Muñoz), an actor in his latest film, and Alvaro
immediately feels drawn to him ... mainly because he is fascinated by
everything that has to do with death. Gaspar on the other hand starts to
believe Alvaro is the reincarnation of his dead brother, and the two
become close friends, with Alvaro even moving in with Gaspar and his
family. Eventually, Alvaro persuades Gaspar's mother (Amparo Noguera), a
doctor, to get them into the mortuary of her hospital - and let them play
with their corpses ... which leaves Gaspar shocked when Alvaro even uses a
knife on one of the corpses. However, despite his fascination with death,
Alvaro seems to be embracing life, and their friendship has a positive
effect on Gaspar, who finally comes over his suicidal tendencies. Then
though, the two see Gaspar's grandpa die, and this only fuels Alvaro's
fascination - so much so that after the shooting of Gaspar's film ends in a
seaside shoot, Alvaro just swims out into the open sea, so far out that
he's ultimately overcome by exhaustion and simply dies. Very
nice and entertaining film that might be a drama at heart, but it contains
so much (intelligent) irony and macabre details along the way that the
tragedy
aspects of the film never become overwhelming, instead its light-footed
approach makes the film totally accessible and enjoyable quite despite its
sombre topic. A great ensemble cast and a slick directorial effort of
course don't hurt one bit either.
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