SFF MOVIE REVIEW: TRUMAN




4/5

Tomas leaves his home in snow-ridden Canada and travels to Madrid to give a surprise visit to his sick friend Julian. Julian has an aggressive cancer and is trying to put his affairs in order, this includes finding a new home for his beloved dog Truman. During the four days Tomas stays in Madrid the two men will experience many encounters, adventures and revelations, coping with the situation the best they can and enjoying their lives to the fullest, while Julian is ready to make the most important decision in his life.

Director Cesc Gay’s follow up to his episodic and dialogue driven “A GUN IN EACH HAND”, is a movie that is, basically, a dialogue between the two men. Without going into extreme sentimentality and skipping the explanation about the characters’ past, TRUMAN tells the story of Julian and Tomas through their reaction to the present situation and the approaching loss.

TRUMAN is shot on the streets of Madrid, a city that unites the two protagonists. Julian arrived from Argentina, Tomas was born here, left for Canada, but came back for his friend. Madrid is a point where the lives of two men intersect, this is one of the things they have in common. There are no areal shots of Madrid, the city in TRUMAN is not picture perfect, but its presence is evident in every scene, just like the friendship between Tomas and Julian.

Ricardo Darin and Javier Camara are wonderful actors. They will make a great company through the film’s almost two-hour run, and have a perfect chemistry. Ricardo Darin plays Julian without bitterness, but with extreme honesty, you can see that it was how he treated the life before “the bad news”.


TRUMAN is an engaging and satisfying drama, slightly predictable, but impeccably written. It is a simple ode to friendship and loyalty, and the responsibility that comes with it.

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