Dirigida por Marcos Carnevale
Foto: divulgación NETFLIX
The inspiration for this task came to me last Sunday.
We enjoyed a spectacular paella as a family, credits to my wonderful mother-in-law.
A splendid afternoon, not a cloud in the sky. The sun felt on the skin like a flamethrower; an Albariño, pleasant conversation, in short, an ideal Sunday afternoon.
Suddenly a cold breeze, thunderclouds, and hail.
Yes hail! About the size of golf balls.
Luckily, we had already eaten.
There is a saying here in Calgary that if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes because it will change.
The incident reminded me of this Argentinian film, Granizo (Hail) (2022), which I saw a few months ago on Netflix.
A comedy that I confess I have seen three times, with some of my brothers and the truth is, the more I see it, the more I laugh.
It is about a famous meteorologist in Buenos Aires, Miguel Flores (Guillermo Francella) who falls into disgrace for failing a weather forecast. And big time!
Yes, it is implausible, perhaps what I call radical absurdity. But the insane plot is hilarious, at least according to my chaotic sense of humor. Just Miguelito’s pet, a little fish named Oswaldito, made me laugh.
However, as in all intelligent humor, the film has an underlying message, a reflection on reconciliation.
Between laughter and inconsistencies, the film talks about a disagreement.
A father who tragically lost his wife (struck by lightning, hence his interest in meteorology) and a daughter, Carla, who felt abandoned.
At the end there is a beautiful re-encounter in the city of Córdoba, Argentina.
But the best of the film: the masterful final scene.
A pearl of sarcasm in a gesture that sums up much of human nature.
It is funny! Do not miss it.
Hail!
Leonor Henríquez (Caracas, Venezuela) Civil Engineer by training (UCAB 1985), writer and apprentice poet by vocation. From her time in engineering emerged her Office Stories (1997), another way of seeing the corporate world. Her latest publications include reflections on grief, Hopecrumbs (2020) (www.hopecrumbs.com) and “The Adventures of Chispita” (2021) (www.chispita.ca) an allegory of life inside Mom’s belly.
Today she shares her “impulsive meditations” from Calgary, Canada, where she lives.
leonorcanada@gmail.com