Blame it on Fidel (PG)

Thursday 5th March 2009
Juan Antonio Bayona 2006 - 99 mins
Mexico, Spain
Language: Spanish

Anna is a smart Parisian girl who is forced to assimilate cataclysmic changes when her parents decide to devote themselves to radical activism.  Anna must adjust to refugee nannies and a cramped apartment full of noisy, scruffy revolutionaries.  The fun is in watching her sift through an array of contradictory ideologies while the film's emotional power arises from her transformation from a close-minded bourgeouis princess to an open-hearted truth seeker.

Score:    81.25%

Some Members' Comments:

Excellent children.
Wonderful acting by Anna.
A wonderful portrayal of a child's reaction to change, sensitive direction and superb acting from Anna.
Superb film.  What amazing actors the children were.
An absolutely captivating performance by the young Anna.  the whole film was so sensitively performed - a delight.

Oscar winning role for Anna.
What a little character!
Beautiful.
Wonderful study of a child's mind marred by over-simplistic politics.  The parents became too 'sympatique' by the end.
Somewhat bewildering.
Another good one - married the personal & political nicely.

Too many stereotypes and implausible situations.
Didn't quite catch the political importance of the period - despite trying very hard to do so.