La Buena Estrella is possibly one of the most beautiful and moving films ever made. It tells the tale of Rafael (Antonio Resines), a lonely butcher whose life changes when he saves Marina (Maribel Verdu) from a brutal attack, and falls in love with her. Rafael learns that Marina is a prostitute and is pregnant to her pimp, Daniel (Jordi Molla) who was the guy attacking her. Rafael marries Marina and, with their daughter, attempt to live life as a normal, loving family. Tragically, however, their dreams are shattered when Daniel comes out of prison and comes in search of help.....
I went into this film not really knowing a thing about it, other than that it had been notorious for press screenings during which even the normally hard-hearted film critics had been seen coming out crying. I thought I would be immune to this. I was wrong. I was fine for about the first 3 minutes of the film, spent the rest of the film with a lump in my throat and the occasional runaway tear, and then sobbed uncontrollably for the last 10-15 minutes. At this point, I turned round to see if any of the 100-150 in the hall were staring at me, only to see that they were as bad. When I left the cinema, I asked the usher if audiences always reacted like that. "Every time" came the reply. I went on to see it 7 times at the cinema.
I can't really explain why it is so sad without giving anything away, but the film is superb. Antonio Resines, a renowned comic actor in Spain, gives a marvellously subtle performance as a profoundly decent human being who just wants to make everyone happy and suffers the consequences, Maribel Verdu succeeds in making you care for her character, even though what she does would probably make her the villain in any other film, whereas Jordi Molla (who lost out on the Goya (Spain's Oscar) to Resines) gives possibly the most complex performance I have ever seen. The way he veers from terrifying you, making you love him and breaking your heart is breathtaking. Also, the music of Eva Gancedo (very reminiscent of that from Cinema Paradiso) is fragile and poignant, complementing the film perfectly. The film is marvellously directed by Ricardo Franco, who went on to win the Goya that year but tragically died shortly after. If you have a heart and you want its strings to be tugged, it is IMPERATIVE that you see this film.
