Truman from
Catalan director Cesc Gay is a warm insightful and sensitively portrayed gem
about an unspoken friendship between two middle-aged men that’s humorous, deeply
moving and resonates with truth.
Tomás played by Javier Cámara – Talk to Her (2002), a Spanish expat living in Montreal goes on an introspective
trip to visit his longtime childhood friend in Madrid, Julian, a divorced
Argentine actor who lives alone in a downtown Madrid apartment with his loyal
aging dog Truman.
What Tomás finds when he arrives at his friend Julian’s
apartment is not what he expects and he’s not sure he’s ready to deal with.
What he thinks will be a casual nostalgic reunion between old friends, turns
into something much more urgent and revealing.
Truman is completely
without sentiment as it examines one man’s attempt to take control of his life
in the face of a dire diagnosis. After many attempts with various chemotherapy
treatments to rid his body of cancer, Julian announces to his close friends that
he no longer intends to spend his last days in and out of hospitals.
Ricardo Darín - Wild Tales (2014) plays Julián with the pressing impulse of a man who knows
there is little time left to do the things he feels must be done. He’s not one
to indulge in nostalgia but wants to see his son one last time without telling
him about his situation. Together with Tomás, they come up with an excuse to
travel to Amsterdam where his son studies, so they can meet him and his new
girlfriend.
This honest and brave new film exposes some of the most
difficult decisions that people are faced with when they know the end is near. How
do we want to spend those precious last few months or years? And what is really important to us in the end?
These issues are examined in a completely honest but unsentimental
way that feels totally authentic with humor and unexpected surprises. The film
is a pleasure to behold, and every moment shows us a very contemporary European
way of life in its dealing with family, work and pleasure.
Tomás finds himself constantly in socially uncomfortable
situations as he observes his friend with genuine concern going through this
personal crisis and coming to terms with his past. They engage in some lively
arguments but all he can do is try to normalize his friend’s life by giving
advice and just being there for him.
We get to see and become familiar with Julian’s surroundings
and places he frequents in Madrid; his apartment building, the coffee shops where
he meets his friends, the streets he walks through, the vet he takes his dog
to, the theatre where he works and the bars he hangs out in.
The story never feels somber because Julian is always on a
mission to solve some new problem of what will happen when he’s gone with
revealing and thought provoking results. When he tries to avoid someone in a
restaurant whose wife he slept with, he is surprised and moved when that person
acknowledges him with a warm greeting and courteously enquires about his health.
All these practical chores and daily business of tying up
the loose ends of his life have a surprisingly emotional pay-off when it comes
time for Tomás to return to his home in Canada, which Julian jokingly keeps
referring to as the North Pole or Viking land and variations thereof.
Truman has won five
prestigious Goya awards (Spain’s Academy of Cinematic Art and Sciences) including
Best Picture, Best Director, and Ricardo Darín and Javier Cámara have both won for
Best Actor and Supporting Actor respectively for their performances in Truman.
JP
