Synopsis
When the retired seventy-seven years old hypochondriac widower Fred moves to an apartment in Madrid, his temperamental daughter Cuca has an incident with his next door neighbor, the elder Argentinean Elsa. Later, they meet each other and Elsa seduces Fred with her reckless behavior and view of life and they have a romance.
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Cast
- China ZorrillaElsa
- Manuel AlexandreFred
- Federico LuppiPablo
- Blanca PortilloCuca
- José Ángel EgidoPaco
- Omar MuñozJavi
- Roberto CarnaghiGabriel
- Carlos Álvarez-NóvoaJuan
- Gonzalo UrtizbereaAlejo
- Fanny GautierLaura
Recommendations
- 75
New York Post
A disarming Spanish dramedy of late-life love, speaks a universal language. - 75
TV Guide Magazine
Sentimental, formulaic, predictable and shamelessly manipulative, Marcos Carnevale’s tale of late-life love is also genuinely heartbreaking and heartening. - 75
Chicago Tribune
Though recalling a truckload of antecedents, "Harold and Maude" and "Sweet November" among them, Elsa & Fred manages enough fresh touches and performance subtleties to stand alone as an irresistible, bittersweet comedy. - 60
NPR
By movie's end, director Marcos Carnevale has made it possible for you to see Elsa through Fred's eyes. Love has bloomed late -- but with sweet exuberance -- in this romantic charmer. - 60
Los Angeles Times
The film may be fearlessly sentimental, but it is sturdy enough to provide rewarding major roles for two veterans, who are of an age when such starring parts are rare. - 50
Chicago Reader
This begins to get interesting in the home stretch, as the woman's chronic deception begins to catch up with her, but for the most part it's an extended Geritol commercial. - 50
Variety
Predictable fare that only occasionally fulfils its intention of being simultaneously heartbreaking and heartening. - 50
Village Voice
The problem isn't the acting; both actors are superb. It's Elsa's character that is so difficult to take. Only the hopelessly romantic will be able to tolerate her.