La Buena Estrella

La Buena Estrella, or The Lucky Star, is a chick flick. Butcher and middle-aged bachelor Antonio Resines, who lost his testicles in an accident, witnesses an attack on Maribel Verdú by her boyfriend, a petty thug named Daniel (Jordi Mollà). Daniel calls her one-eye, as she lost an eye in the orphanage the two grew up in. Resines takes her to the hospital, then to his home to recuperate. Daniel, by then, is in prison again. Resines and Verdú become lovers of sorts, and, when the baby is born, he names her after his mother, Star, and raises her as his own.

NUDITY REPORT

Verdú shows buns in bed with Resines, then a breast under water in a bath scene.

Daniel is released from the slammer, and shows up on their doorstep, and Verdú takes him in, despite Resines better judgement. At first, she says it is because she is all he has, and they have a common history, but Resines learns that she, in fact, loves both of them. He eventually deals with it, even after she leaves with Daniel because "he needs her." When Daniel is arrested again for a bank robbery, he takes Verdú back, even though she's again pregnant. I will leave some of the plot unsaid, in case this is your type of film.

no Region 1 DVD available

There is no doubt that the three lead performances were excellent, which kept the film above the soap opera level for about 2/3 of the running time, but the ending sunk it for me completely.

The Critics Vote

It won Goyas for best film, best actor, best director and best original score, and was nominated for 4 others, including Jordi Mollà for best actor and Maribel Verdú for best actress.

The People Vote ...

IMDB summary. IMDb voters score it 7.2/10

IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, this film is a C. It is technically competent, and features three good performances, but is not my kind of film. For those who like tear jerker estrogen-centric films, this is a good genre effort.