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Family Law (film)
Encyclopedia
Family Law (2006) is an Argentine
, French, Italian, and Spanish, comedy-drama
film, written and directed by Daniel Burman
.
The picture was produced by Diego Dubcovsky
, José María Morales, and Marc Sillam, and co-produced by Amedeo Pagani.
Family Law was Argentina official submission for the 2004 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The film tells the story of Ariel Perelman (Daniel Hendler
). While he has an easygoing lifestyle, he's trying to find his way in life in Buenos Aires
, Argentina
. He works at a university as a law professor. The film begins with a long narration of the way things stand in his life. He describes his father, Bernardo Perelman (Arturo Goetz
), in detail. Perelman, as he's known, is a popular public defender who meets his clients where they work or in restaurants so he can determine what they are "all about." Most of his clients are generally poor. He's very close to his secretary (Adriana Aizemberg
) since his wife died fifteen years ago. Work fills Perelman's days, and Ariel is astonished by his energy.
After lusting after Sandra (Julieta Díaz
), an attractive woman who takes his class, Ariel decides to chase her and takes the Pilates
class she teaches. Not much happens until Sandra is sued for teaching Pilates without the approval of the company who hold the rights to teach Pilates in Argentina. Ariel (known as Perelman to Sandra) reaches out to his father for help and wins the law suit.
In the process, Sandra falls in love with the younger Perelman and they marry. She begins to decorate their home for a few years and they have a child they name Gastón (Eloy Burman), who is a quite charming young boy.
Ariel's university building is shut down for a month because it had collapsed, and he is given some time off. However, he doesn't share this news with his wife. During this time his father starts spending some quality time with Ariel, which makes him think something must be wrong. Ariel is asked by the Swiss kindergarten school Gastón attends to participate in a play and swim classes with the other fathers. Ariel first rebels but gives in.
The film ends with his father's death and burial and a long introspective look at Ariel Perelman's life in his 30s.
(2004). All were written and directed by Burman and star Daniel Hendler
. They are largely autobiographical, dealing with the life of a young Jew in contemporary Buenos Aires
.
Like the characters in the film, Burman's own father was a lawyer and he also went to law school.
Eloy Burman who plays Gastón Perelman is the young son of director Daniel Burman.
on February 10, 2006. It was first screened in Argentina
on March 16, 2006 at the Mar del Plata Film Festival
. It opened wide in Argentina on March 23, 2006.
The film was shown at various film festivals, including: the Toulouse Latin America Film Festival, France; the Moscow Film Festival, Russia; the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, Czech Republic
; the Edinburgh Film Festival, Scotland
; the Helsinki International Film Festival, Finland; Films From The South Festival, Norway; the Chicago International Film Festival
, USA; the Warsaw Film Festival, Poland; and others.
Jonathon Holland, film critic of Variety
magazine, liked the film's story and wrote, "A deft, witty and emotionally rewarding study of a thirtysomething man in his roles as father and son, Daniel Burman's intensely personal "Family Law" completes his fatherhood trilogy. The second installment, "Lost Embrace", won the Silver Bear at Berlin in 2004. Again featuring an outstanding Daniel Hendler (best actor in 2004) and a script that fuses sharp observation with the intimacy of a lightly rewritten autobiography, pic effortlessly takes the viewer through a range of thoughts and moods. Fans of "Embrace" might lament the relative absence of social context this time, but pic's multiple merits should consolidate helmer's [sic] burgeoning offshore reputation."
The senior film writer at the San Francisco Chronicle
, Ruthe Stein, liked the comedy-drama's screenplay, the direction and acting, writing, "Family Law—a subtly perceptive charmer that was Argentina's entry for a best foreign film Oscar and might have been nominated in a less competitive year—is in no particular hurry to get where it's going...Although Hendler and Goetz don't really look alike, they manage to convey a family resemblance in their mannerisms, particularly the erect way they carry themselves, as if they're somebody...Aizemberg works wonders. You get the sense from her radiance that the secretary has always had a thing for her boss. His wife's death allowed her to finally express it physically, and she's overjoyed by their intimacy...Ultimately this is a movie about a son's discovery of the man he knows mostly as a father. It's a serious subject handled with humor—not the ha-ha kind, but the hard laughter that comes from recognizing parts of yourself in the Perelmans."
Critics Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, of the website Spirituality and Practice like the film and wrote, "Family Law explores in a realistic and touching way the emotional barriers that often block intimate conversation between fathers and sons...It's easy today to send e-mails and faxes anywhere in the world, yet we rarely speak to those who live in our neighborhood. We have cellular telephones and pagers, yet we spend very little time in deep conversation with those in our immediate family. This strange phenomenon is depicted very poignantly in this snappy and satisfying film from Argentina written and directed by Daniel Burman. We were very impressed with his Lost Embrace about a father and son reunion after years apart. This one also deals with a father and son relationship."
Nominations
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, French, Italian, and Spanish, comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
film, written and directed by Daniel Burman
Daniel Burman
Daniel Burman is a film director, screenplay writer, and producer.According to film critic Joel Poblete, who writes for Mabuse, a cinema magazine, Daniel Burman is one of the members of the so-called "New Argentina Cinema" which began c...
.
The picture was produced by Diego Dubcovsky
Diego Dubcovsky
Diego Dubcovsky is an Argentine film producer, production manager, and production designer.He works in the cinema of Argentina....
, José María Morales, and Marc Sillam, and co-produced by Amedeo Pagani.
Family Law was Argentina official submission for the 2004 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
Plot
Daniel Hendler
Daniel Hendler is an Uruguayan film, television, and theatre actor who works mainly in the cinema of Argentina, where he lives. He is known for his starring roles in films such as Bottom of the Sea, Family Law, The Paranoids, Phase 7, and award winning Lost Embrace by director Daniel Burman, with...
). While he has an easygoing lifestyle, he's trying to find his way in life in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. He works at a university as a law professor. The film begins with a long narration of the way things stand in his life. He describes his father, Bernardo Perelman (Arturo Goetz
Arturo Goetz
Arturo Goetz , is an Argentine film actor.He works in the cinema of Argentina.He studied for a D.Phil. in Economics at Jesus College, Oxford from 1971 to 1974, but left without completing his studies when his scholarship ran out. Whilst at Jesus College, he played football for the college team and...
), in detail. Perelman, as he's known, is a popular public defender who meets his clients where they work or in restaurants so he can determine what they are "all about." Most of his clients are generally poor. He's very close to his secretary (Adriana Aizemberg
Adriana Aizemberg
Adriana Aizemberg is an Argentine film and television actress.She has appeared in film since the year 1967 making her debut in El ABC del amor making some sixteen appearances to date....
) since his wife died fifteen years ago. Work fills Perelman's days, and Ariel is astonished by his energy.
After lusting after Sandra (Julieta Díaz
Julieta Díaz
Julieta Díaz is an Argentine film, television, and theatre actress. She began her career at age 13.Díaz works in the cinema of Argentina.-Filmography:* Lobos marinos * Déjala correr...
), an attractive woman who takes his class, Ariel decides to chase her and takes the Pilates
Pilates
Pilates is a physical fitness system developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates in Germany, the UK and the USA. As of 2005, there were 11 million people practicing the discipline regularly and 14,000 instructors in the United States....
class she teaches. Not much happens until Sandra is sued for teaching Pilates without the approval of the company who hold the rights to teach Pilates in Argentina. Ariel (known as Perelman to Sandra) reaches out to his father for help and wins the law suit.
In the process, Sandra falls in love with the younger Perelman and they marry. She begins to decorate their home for a few years and they have a child they name Gastón (Eloy Burman), who is a quite charming young boy.
Ariel's university building is shut down for a month because it had collapsed, and he is given some time off. However, he doesn't share this news with his wife. During this time his father starts spending some quality time with Ariel, which makes him think something must be wrong. Ariel is asked by the Swiss kindergarten school Gastón attends to participate in a play and swim classes with the other fathers. Ariel first rebels but gives in.
The film ends with his father's death and burial and a long introspective look at Ariel Perelman's life in his 30s.
Background
Derecho de familia is part of a loose trilogy of films. The other two are: Esperando al mesías (2000) and El abrazo partidoEl abrazo partido
Lost Embrace is an Argentine, French, Italian, and Spanish comedy drama film, directed by Daniel Burman and written by Burman and Marcelo Birmajer...
(2004). All were written and directed by Burman and star Daniel Hendler
Daniel Hendler
Daniel Hendler is an Uruguayan film, television, and theatre actor who works mainly in the cinema of Argentina, where he lives. He is known for his starring roles in films such as Bottom of the Sea, Family Law, The Paranoids, Phase 7, and award winning Lost Embrace by director Daniel Burman, with...
. They are largely autobiographical, dealing with the life of a young Jew in contemporary Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
.
Like the characters in the film, Burman's own father was a lawyer and he also went to law school.
Eloy Burman who plays Gastón Perelman is the young son of director Daniel Burman.
Cast
- Daniel HendlerDaniel HendlerDaniel Hendler is an Uruguayan film, television, and theatre actor who works mainly in the cinema of Argentina, where he lives. He is known for his starring roles in films such as Bottom of the Sea, Family Law, The Paranoids, Phase 7, and award winning Lost Embrace by director Daniel Burman, with...
as Ariel Perelman - Arturo GoetzArturo GoetzArturo Goetz , is an Argentine film actor.He works in the cinema of Argentina.He studied for a D.Phil. in Economics at Jesus College, Oxford from 1971 to 1974, but left without completing his studies when his scholarship ran out. Whilst at Jesus College, he played football for the college team and...
as Bernardo Perelman - Eloy Burman as Gastón Perelman
- Julieta DíazJulieta DíazJulieta Díaz is an Argentine film, television, and theatre actress. She began her career at age 13.Díaz works in the cinema of Argentina.-Filmography:* Lobos marinos * Déjala correr...
as Sandra - Adriana AizembergAdriana AizembergAdriana Aizemberg is an Argentine film and television actress.She has appeared in film since the year 1967 making her debut in El ABC del amor making some sixteen appearances to date....
as Norita - Jean Pierre Reguerraz as uncle Eduardo Perelman
- Dmitry Rodnoy as Germán
- Luis Albornoz as Echechuny
- Darío Lagos as uncle Mamuñe
- Damián Dreizik as Damidjian
- Gerardo del Águila as Peruano (Peruvian)
Distribution
The film was first presented at the Berlin International Film FestivalBerlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
on February 10, 2006. It was first screened in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
on March 16, 2006 at the Mar del Plata Film Festival
Mar del Plata Film Festival
The Mar del Plata International Film Festival is an international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina...
. It opened wide in Argentina on March 23, 2006.
The film was shown at various film festivals, including: the Toulouse Latin America Film Festival, France; the Moscow Film Festival, Russia; the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
; the Edinburgh Film Festival, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
; the Helsinki International Film Festival, Finland; Films From The South Festival, Norway; the Chicago International Film Festival
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
, USA; the Warsaw Film Festival, Poland; and others.
Critical response
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine, liked the film's story and wrote, "A deft, witty and emotionally rewarding study of a thirtysomething man in his roles as father and son, Daniel Burman's intensely personal "Family Law" completes his fatherhood trilogy. The second installment, "Lost Embrace", won the Silver Bear at Berlin in 2004. Again featuring an outstanding Daniel Hendler (best actor in 2004) and a script that fuses sharp observation with the intimacy of a lightly rewritten autobiography, pic effortlessly takes the viewer through a range of thoughts and moods. Fans of "Embrace" might lament the relative absence of social context this time, but pic's multiple merits should consolidate helmer's [sic] burgeoning offshore reputation."
The senior film writer at the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, Ruthe Stein, liked the comedy-drama's screenplay, the direction and acting, writing, "Family Law—a subtly perceptive charmer that was Argentina's entry for a best foreign film Oscar and might have been nominated in a less competitive year—is in no particular hurry to get where it's going...Although Hendler and Goetz don't really look alike, they manage to convey a family resemblance in their mannerisms, particularly the erect way they carry themselves, as if they're somebody...Aizemberg works wonders. You get the sense from her radiance that the secretary has always had a thing for her boss. His wife's death allowed her to finally express it physically, and she's overjoyed by their intimacy...Ultimately this is a movie about a son's discovery of the man he knows mostly as a father. It's a serious subject handled with humor—not the ha-ha kind, but the hard laughter that comes from recognizing parts of yourself in the Perelmans."
Critics Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, of the website Spirituality and Practice like the film and wrote, "Family Law explores in a realistic and touching way the emotional barriers that often block intimate conversation between fathers and sons...It's easy today to send e-mails and faxes anywhere in the world, yet we rarely speak to those who live in our neighborhood. We have cellular telephones and pagers, yet we spend very little time in deep conversation with those in our immediate family. This strange phenomenon is depicted very poignantly in this snappy and satisfying film from Argentina written and directed by Daniel Burman. We were very impressed with his Lost Embrace about a father and son reunion after years apart. This one also deals with a father and son relationship."
Awards
Wins- Mar del Plata Film FestivalMar del Plata Film FestivalThe Mar del Plata International Film Festival is an international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina...
: Audience Award; Best Ibero-American Film; SIGNIS Award; all for Daniel Burman; 2006. - Clarín Entertainment AwardsClarín AwardsThe Clarín Entertainment Awards is an award program that have taken place in Argentina since 1998. They are more commonly known as the Clarín Awards....
: Clarín Award Best Film Screenplay, Daniel Burman; Best Supporting Film Actress, Adriana AizembergAdriana AizembergAdriana Aizemberg is an Argentine film and television actress.She has appeared in film since the year 1967 making her debut in El ABC del amor making some sixteen appearances to date....
; 2006. - Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Silver Condor, Best Director, Daniel Burman; Best Supporting Actor, Arturo Goetz; 2007.
Nominations
- Mar del Plata Film Festival: Best Film, Daniel Burman; 2006.
- Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Silver Condor, Best Actor, Daniel Hendler; Best Actress, Julieta Díaz; Best Film; 2007.
External links
- Derecho de familia at the cinenacional.comCinenacional.comCinenacional.com is a web portal and web-based database about Argentine cinema.The site provides a vast array of information, including: films, television programs, directors, actors, cinematographers, film editors, production designers, and other production professions in Argentina...
- Derecho de familia film review at La Nación by Diego Battle
- Family Law trailer at You Tube by IFC FilmsIFC FilmsIFC Films is an American film distribution company based in New York, owned by AMC Networks. It distributes independent films and documentaries under the IFC Films, Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight. It operates the IFC Center....