Friday, March 19, 2010

3SOME (aka Paper Castles, aka Castillos de cartón) debuts On-Demand

TrustMovies has been wondering just why a review he posted over three months ago is suddenly getting so many hits that it's now among his top ten posts.  The reason: In the interim IFC Films has picked up this exceptional movie, now titled 3SOME (originally called Paper Castles: Castillos de cartón in its Spanish language title), for an On-Demand release.  TM is happy to know this because the film is one of those that are so fine in so many ways, that it hurt to think it might not be seen again here in the U.S. (3some was first shown here as part of last year's Spanish Cinema Now series from the Film Society of Lincoln Center.)

As my original review notes, the movie is very smart about art, young people, self-image and sexuality, and all of these things come to the fore during its brief but powerful 94 minutes.  The sex scenes are among the best -- original, funny, moving and real -- I've ever seen, and the use of nudity (including plenty of full frontal) is handled so well and believably that it's a pleasure to view on several levels.

The importance of art in the lives of these kids is also something the film brings beautifully to life. I am trying to recall another movie in which art -- appreciating it, talking about it, making it -- is conceived and executed any better than here, and I am (except perhaps for Seraphine) coming up short. The relationship between these three kids also rings terribly, hilariously, sadly true, and this is the subject the director (Salvador García Ruiz, shown at right) and his screenwriter Enrique Urbizu (based on a novel by Almudena Grandes) capture in spades.

The three kids could hardly be better, and I hope we'll see them soon again: Adriana Ugarte (shown above, left with Nilo Mur) and Biel Durán (shown below).  The character played by Señor Mur, in particular, is full of surprise. We don't know until the end, just how smart and sad this fellow is, and when he unburdens, it is both devastating and cleansing. The quietest of the three, he also turns out to be the most perspicacious.

3some will be available On-Demand until May 11, 2010, as part of IFC's Festival Direct program; click here to learn if it's in your particular area.  I would advise a watch before it's On-Demand time is up.  Though, even then, I suspect it will make a DVD appearance.

At least, I hope so.
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11 comments:

SEAL wife said...

Thanks for reviewing it, I just saw it in IFC and I was truly moved. I haven't seen a film so natural, raw and so indicative of how art is talked about, how complex relationships can sometimes flow effortlessly and to the contrary, and how sexuality plays a role in all we do. As a young adult, I felt an instant connection, but as someone that enjoys films, I was in awe of the films beauty and sadness. The actors were truly amazing and I would love for everyone to see this movie, although some might mis-understand it.

March 8, 2011 1:24 AM
austin said...

i too just saw the movie and was so moved by it's beauty, both on canvas and on film, that i can only call it "haunting." the intricacies both spoken and unspoken between each of the characters melds with each one's artistic development (or lack of)are very subtle yet at the end become as clear as crystal. i was surprised by the ending though... i didn't know where she was, in what house, but i could hear the waves so i assume she was in the beach house. i must confess however that i prefer more of a concrete ending than this... i don't like loose strings. so, if anyone has a version of "what did finally happen with the three" i would love to read it.

June 7, 2011 3:40 AM
James van Maanen, said...

OK, readers: If any of your are also writers, get to it. Come up with a sequel to the film so we can follow these characters farther. I'm sure the one played by Nilo Cruz will becomes a successful artist (if he chooses to follow that path, at least), but the other two? Hmmmm. Lots of possibilities here. Like an empty canvas, right -- so pick up your brush....

June 7, 2011 8:43 AM
Anonymous said...

I think what happened in the end is both men left and she ended up alone. Both men felt they needed to try go grow outside of the relationship the three of them shared and it was because of the realness and honesty they shared that they found the strength they needed in themselves to move on with their lives and continue to grow as individuals.

December 11, 2011 5:33 AM
James van Maanen, said...

Finally, six months later, Anonymous comes through with an interesting "What Happened" take on all this. Thanks, Anon. Your idea that, because of this threesome relationship, both men find the strength to move on with their lives is a positive one, though it seems more probable in the case of the character played by Nilo Cruz. But she ending up alone? I somehow doubt this -- unless she wants to, of course. On the other hand, after THIS relationship, she may never again find anything so unusual and fulfilling on certain levels.

December 11, 2011 9:11 AM
Anonymous said...

i also watched on TV and get moved.
i recongized Jose is in her home at the end.
i think Jose should go/find with one of them.

January 2, 2012 11:57 AM
James van Maanen, said...

And thanks to you, too, (yet another) Anon. I THINK I get what you mean, but obviously there's a bit of a language barrier here.

January 2, 2012 3:58 PM
Anonymous said...

She loved them both...
They each wanted her for their own...
As men do...when they don't get what they want...they leave...but they can never forget her raw beauty and courage to give all she is...an incredible symbol of love... Marcos remembers...
~
~
~

February 11, 2012 9:26 PM
James van Maanen, said...

Thanks, Anon. Your take on what happens later seems pretty possible and quite right, emotionally and character-wise. It's nice to see how strongly this movie affects so many of you. A sign of its quality, I think.

February 11, 2012 11:16 PM
Anonymous said...

I just finished this movie, and it was fantastic. Someone else used the word "haunting", and I think that nails it. The loose ending definitely goes along with the haunting vibe, such that I am actually feeling a deep longing for "what they once had", a feeling I think was trying to be portrayed in the final scene. As far as whether Jose ends up alone, I'm not quite sure, but I definitely think that the relationship of all three of them is over. All in all, a great movie!

May 6, 2012 1:54 AM
James van Maanen said...

And thanks to you, yet another Anon. "Haunting" is indeed a good word to use for this movie, and I agree with you, too, about the loose end fitting the situation (and the movie) quite well. Maybe their paths will cross again somewhere down the line. In any case, a mark of this film's great strength and its ability to reel us in and keep us interested is the fact the so many viewers seem to care so much about these characters. A bravo is due the writer and director.

This film, along with Matthew Chapman's The Ledge are the two that have drawn the most comments on my blog. I'm happy about that, as both films have been far too under-seen by the masses, worldwide, and both are original and very worthwhile.

May 6, 2012 3:19 PM

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