Mexican film absolutely unknown to me director Eugenio Derbez, who played the main role, - "Instructions are not attached", which seems to be in the original (and on the website where I looked) called "Return is not subject." A Mexican man, whose only occupation is a variety of girls with whom he has fun, suddenly stops on his way to entertainment when one of his former lovers hands him a daughter, and she leaves for Los Angeles. He naively assumes that he will be able to return the girl, and he goes there first on foot, and then on a ride. He manages to cross the border, of course, he does not find a girl, and he has to stay there to live, by the will of fate he begins to work as a stuntman, constantly overcoming his fear. He attaches himself to the girl and educates her, putting his whole soul into this business, while creating a myth about the mother, who suddenly announces herself to the seventh birthday of the girl, and after a while wants to take her daughter. I’m not going to talk about it, in case someone wants to see it.
When I decided to watch this movie, I expected a maximum of average stamped crafts. Layer by layer, from the banal situation of a single father, a comedy makeup was filmed to expose strong drama and sharp questions. It happens unnoticed, the tempo of humor weakens, and tears are ready to break out.
This picture can be characterized by the word 'shock'. From the very beginning, the picture pretends to be a low-budget repulsive comedy with the twist of the main character and jokes of the level of children's anecdotes. Closer to the middle causes genuine empathy, and culminating in a full-fledged catharsis.
The main character grows and acquires depth throughout the film, he does not lose his main qualities, does not change dramatically, but rather uses his weaknesses for good. The organic transformation you believe in, drama works.
Interesting and visual style. Nice rag animation, lively metaphors of fear give warmth and variety to the video series. Easy, intuitive language, does its job well. Color solutions that convey the state of the characters, refrains, short editing all to the place.
And when we talked about form, content for dessert. The variety of topics surprised me, to say the least. Here and the education of children, and the fight against fears, different sections of responsibility, the formation of attachment, and reasoning on the ethics of lies and this is only the beginning. The film has no claim to these arguments, a confronts you with them.
This is a psychological attraction , in the genre of tragicomedy. It’s worth every minute. Recommended to watch.
Do you know what the most difficult movie genre in the world is? It's tragicomedy, in other words, laughter through tears. That is why there are very few such films and their authors cannot but be brilliant. Imagine how difficult it is to balance comedy and drama. It's like in Vysotsky's song about a tightrope walker "in the right tilt, left tilt, lost ..." One must be a very subtle psychologist and a good connoisseur of human souls so as not to overdo it with laughter or tears and thereby not spoil everything. This is a big plus for the director. Have you ever heard the saying, “Who in the army did not laugh?” It sounds funny, but it's sad. I want to say that to make a tragicomedy is like saying a brilliant phrase or aphorism. Not everyone can do that.
What am I talking about? Oh, yeah, the movie! The comedic composite film leaves much to be desired, for the dramatic is flawless. That's because the laughter is artificial, but the drama is natural. For such a genre, it is unforgivable to score a goal in a place with a child. This is only possible for films like the Naked Gun. I'll take 1 point off for that.
Now to the spiritual. What got me most excited was the question of whether a fairytale world for a child is good or bad? On the one hand, a sober kid with no fantasies, it scares me. On the other hand, I am even more frightened by Virtual Reality, which takes not only children, but also adults into a fictional world where everything is fine, but this is not true. Sooner or later, the crystal locks will collapse. Therefore, no matter how twisted, as Brother said, still power is in the Truth.
Another dramatic moment is the fight with whom the child lives. A foundling father or an alien mother? The situation seems to be rare, but the division of a child during a divorce, how familiar and how sad.
The surprise at the end of the movie is another big move. In a word, the film is impressive, watch and enjoy.
9 out of 10
This is one of the most moving pictures I have seen recently.
Valentine’s father always taught his son not to fear anything and to fight his fears. Growing up, Valentine became afraid of almost everything in the world, but his main fear was responsibility. One day a girl knocks on his door with a child and declares that the child from him, having left to pay for a taxi, the mother never returns and Valentine has to overcome his fear and become a father.
The film tells the amazing story of a man’s struggle with his own fears. The film has a lot of flaws, but they all don’t matter, because the film really touches, it’s one of those cases where I’m willing to forgive a lot of the film, because in the end it made me think about a lot. When I first started watching it, I was sure it was just a comedy, I never imagined it would turn into a serious drama. I may be overly emotional, and I probably am, but I cried three times during this movie, and it touched me so much. It’s one of those movies where you can’t digest everything you’ve seen for a while, you just sit there and try to sort through your own thoughts. This may not be the best film in the world, but one of the most heartfelt and stunning pictures that beat right into the heart.
You always get gifts from promiscuous sex. Not just those that are cured by antibiotics. One day there may be one who once swore eternal love, and then forgot her name. She asks for money to pay off the taxi driver and disappears for six years, leaving you with that present in your hands. With a wonderful girl who will take away her freedom and make her look for a job. And in the future, probably, will have to watch her favorite cartoons, answer questions like “why do I not grow sissy”, with the help of fists to deal with the guy who broke her heart.
The main character, Valentine, a classic slut with a kind heart, having success with women, with an eternal three-day bristles, a double of Billy Bob Thornton. The similarity with the American actor is striking, does not give rest, calling to read the credits. But no, Latinos in Hollywood movies are familiar, and the reverse cases have not yet been observed. The main character is played by the director himself, Eugenio Derbez, the former husband of the favorite of Russian housewives “Just Maria” and the son of his mother, who starred in Buñuel and claimed the title of “Miss Mexico”. Until now, he was engaged in the production of series, and this tape made a bid to be noticed in the greatest film power.
Who says men lack maternal instinct? They are also more pleasant to watch the playing child than to watch the sunset. For the sake of a child, they are able, without thinking twice, to jump from the eighth floor. Or turn the nursery into a toy store. They too, forgetting about their gender, can exclaim in their hearts: “Why didn’t I have an abortion?” And they never tarnish the memory of the second absent parent.
The plot of the film is quite Hollywood, making you remember numerous examples of touching relationships between men and children. Most of the events take place in Los Angeles, where the hero in search of the mother of the child goes almost on foot, where, at one of the studios of the “dream factory” arranged stuntman and, having no abilities, trying to learn English. In terms of technical perfection, the picture is not inferior to American film production. One of the main advantages of the film is Mexican humor, unusually fresh, sometimes only smelling of used diapers. Also please the bulging characters of the main characters. A cowardly father justifies his surname Bravo when it comes to his daughter. A blonde, legally savvy mother with all the makings of a bitch is not always her.
Invented by a single father, the legend of a mother on a special mission is imbued with the hope that one day a complete happy family will be formed. Mom travels the world checking to see if everyone is happy. And weekly with a male hand writes messages about his exploits and how he misses his beloved daughter. Falsehood bears fruit, which feeds all: father, mother, and child. My daughter doesn't feel like a half-orphan. Mom, though undeserved, is remembered and loved. And the father does not forget to embellish himself in the letters he writes. But without embellishment, he is undoubtedly the best dad in the world. His only drawback is dangerous work, which at any moment can leave the girl a complete orphan. And she's doing her dad's job. She gives reciprocal affection and serves her father as an interpreter and resuscitator.
Maximum approaching his work to the taste of the viewer of the northern neighbor of his homeland, Derbez at the same time tries to avoid stamps. Achieving originality, he is so sophisticated in coming up with unexpected plot moves that he turns a cute comedy into an exciting and sad drama, which, however, also quotes many famous films - from the Oscar-winning Kramer vs. Kramer to Shakhnazarov's American daughter. The theme covered in the second half of the film, with the division of the child, is close to developed countries like the United States, which again proves the desire of the creators of “Instructions...” to enter the large film market.
As a child, the main character underwent a course of getting rid of fear. The very cruel exercises offered by his father never relieved him of his phobias. Spiders can be slapped by others, air travel replaced by hitchhiking. And how to save and grow in rude, inept male hands a gentle creature, to which no accompanying notes were attached? And how to survive a grief that cannot be compared to the feelings of a six-year-old boy when he was thrown from a high cliff into the sea? Only selfless love will replace all the recipes for overcoming difficulties. Only she lays in the soul and mind all the necessary instructions.
The picture does not let you miss a minute. Having torn his stomach from laughter, towards the end, more and more often we have to pull out a handkerchief. The film is truly family. When viewing it, not only young viewers and sensitive ladies feel delight. And grown-up guys get their shot, even though they never admit it. They only pretend to be harsh in the upbringing of children and unfit for courtship. In fact, they secretly envy the hero, who believes that ten dollars in a taxi mother cuckoo was the best investment in his life.
Recently I watched and finally watched this film and was very surprised that in our time, when in the world of cinema, among the action films, blogbusters, fiction and do not understand anything else, primarily aimed at entertainment and box office, the director and part-time actor Eugenio Derbes managed to create such an interesting and touching picture of simple human values, which we often forget in the routine of life. Talk about directing, scripting, acting can only be what worked the best way. It seems that Eugenio Derbez was going to this picture for a long time, despite the long track record of his roles and works, perhaps this is his absolute triumph! This is a film that we will watch repeatedly and with pleasure for many years, it can be put on the same shelf with the French paintings “Daddy”, “Runaways”. The director gave the picture only some comedy probably, so as not to shock and protect the modern viewer without traumatizing the essence of the plot, calmly and dimensionally revealing it to us. All the sharp corners that can “hurt” the viewer are properly “rounded” and only at the end we see the finale as it is. But we are not begging for the work done. I would also like to point out that such films must be watched. Instructions Are Not Attached reminds us that we often overlook, forget and neglect the most important things in the world: love, simple family values, the attention of people close to us. Recommended for viewing definitely! Have a good time!
Mexican, Brazilian and Argentinian films are not scolded only by the lazy. For good reason. Like soapy and fragrant operas and operettas, everyone has long been tired. Of course it is. But in addition to the series, there is a simple single movie that does not flow from series to series and make up the total timekeeping of no more than two hours. Someone would reasonably say what they are filming. And it will be completely wrong, because the film “Instructions are not attached” will fundamentally change their opinion and prejudice. More than sure.
The painting by Eugenio Derbeza is a real gift for all fans and connoisseurs of cinema. I want to warn you that the beginning of the film does not scare away from its further viewing. No, in the debut of the picture there is nothing terrible, just the beginning may seem somewhat primitive and predictable. Again, the main character, a womanizer and a hangover, a shaggy guy, can alienate the viewer from himself. But if you have patience, you will be rewarded.
So, one blisteringly hot-but-female man gets into a situation where legs, if you're a normal person, don't. When can a man make his legs? That's right. When he seduced and fled. But when a trail of short connections stretches behind you and you no longer realize the reality of what is happening, then you will be covered with your head as our hero. A former friend comes to his house, not alone, but with a child in his arms. It is clear that she does not hint, but in a cheerful voice declares that he is a father. And while this, with the permission to say "father" comes to his senses, the garna of the devil ticks in an unknown direction. And the life of the main character changes dramatically. It's about the tie itself. As you can see, it's quite common. But again, it will be very touching and tender to watch the father and his girl.
Such there will be unrealistic stunts and soul-scorching scenes that just finish. What kind of room he's gonna ruin! Watch and envy how to love and raise a child. And she reciprocates him. You just have to see it. And when it bursts into their lives... I'm not going to tell you any more. They're good, these Mexicans. The actors may not be so well known or even unknown to the general public, but they played extremely well and wonderfully. This is a real family movie that can melt the icy heart.
10 out of 10
Life strikes worse than jumping from a mountain at the age of six.
As long as we have seen such stories, everything is simple, it would seem, even a typical comedy. A father in playboy life is not interested in anything but parties and women, but suddenly fate gives him a chance to change and this chance is a child. Then everything at first glance, obviously, he will love his blood with all his heart and soul, change his lifestyle, become a different person and, of course, the whole story is mixed with flat humor (for example, how funny, he changes the baby’s diapers).
But this film is not typical it is painfully vital and true. In it we see real life, full of hardships, cruelty and unexpected turns of fate. All this is seasoned with excellent humor and thanks to it, the picture looks in one breath. Who would have thought that this film would be so deep, how many interesting thoughts are put here. He teaches us to live in the present, to enjoy life here and now, he teaches us to love and never regret anything. This film touches to the core and skillfully breaks stereotypes.
These words are not thrown around, but it is really a masterpiece, such a high-quality film is shot once every five years. You can write about it for eternity, but all feelings cannot be expressed in words; it is worth seeing everyone at least once in life.
10 out of 10
The film is a journey from Mexican comedy to Hollywood melodrama.
Eugenio Derbez (Eugenio Derbez) acted in this film not only as the main character - Valentine, but also as a director-writer in combination. During his working years, the actor Derbes visited 45 films, and the director was only 7 (periodically shoots since 1997), the screenwriter and even less – 4. Therefore, what is better for a person, you can judge for yourself. According to my feelings, in about the same proportion (45 to 7) in the "Instructions" correlate acting and directing skills.
So I in the course of the play and did not understand how magically the main character of the womanizer (burned this to the depths of his Kazan soul) turned into a super-caring father. After all, initially the child just fell on him with an unexpected “Stork”, or rather the baby was brought by one of the former girlfriends (played the role of Jessica Lindsay), after the presentation of the package disappeared without a trace.
Of course, we can assume that this is the salt. Of course, it was interesting to watch Valentine’s focus shift from herself and the female world to Maggie’s daughter (Loreto Peralta). I can’t say that he turned into a beautiful father, according to all canons, but he became attentive, caring and indulgent whims for sure. After all, he was able to create around the girl a micro-world of a princess and a researcher (the whole apartment is similar to the Children’s World or Imaginarium).
It is good that humor does not get bored. Amused ridiculous attempts to cross the border into the United States, in order to return the daughter to the homeland of the blood and legally gave birth to her lady, in the beginning, and the subsequent even more absurd moments of stunt and the very point of exaggeration of how the hero got into this profession. In general, the whole script runs through this farce in the plot, or rather some screaming joke. Sometimes the cocktail is reduced to absurdity, almost like in a French comedy. At some points, it was thought that this is really part of the plot or the writer’s humor about life in Hollywood?
Throughout the tape, you are touched by the relationship between father and daughter, the growing bond and the mystery of their contact, which made them a single whole. Therefore, when they try to separate it becomes really sorry, very sorry, and you begin to sincerely empathize. It is good that there is nothing to do with true love.
The original comedy is more like a ploy to drag you into the melancholy of the climax. The main character for some reason was sick, and someone else was sick. An attempt to knock out a tear at the end of the opus could well have passed twenty years ago, until this technique was so frankly worn out.
But in general, I never caught the deep meaning beyond the standard clichés about responsibility and rethinking myself, or maybe it is not worth looking for, but just relax and have fun? And it was necessary to put something bold point of the script and narrative.
“Mexico vs. Happy Endos? It's against Hollywood, you say? Well, this is Eugenio Derbez. Thank you for the juicy picture of landscapes and funny animation, I will keep this in mind, and you have good luck in future films and determining your role in the film industry.
No se Aceptan Devoluciones (2013) – Laughter and Tears in Mexican
It is worth watching if:
- Do you want to watch a family movie?
- Men with children touch you no less than cute cats
- You like genre metamorphoses and unexpected plot twists.
On August 14, the Mexican film “Instructions Not Attached” was released. In the story, Valentine from Acapulco, specializing in single tourists, one fine morning becomes a father - one of his many exes comes to his doorstep, gives him a 7-month-old child with the words "This is your daughter" and disappears without a trace.
The exposition of the main character obsessively resembles the first minutes of the “50 first kisses” with Adam Sandler, but the hairstyle of the main character is worse, and everyone speaks Spanish. By the time of the withdrawal begins to smell very average comedy about a man suddenly became a father with the ensuing jokes about diapers, sleepless nights and lack of sex.
Quite leisurely storyline begins to envelop not typical for the comedy genre of drama. Here you begin to lose ground under your feet, not fully understanding what you are dealing with. To climax, the frequency of dramatic plot twists reaches the level of Latin American TV series. Comedy fades into the background, and it's time to get handkerchiefs. After the murderous finale, you think that somewhere you were deceived, and then rubbing your snotty nose, you realize that now everything falls into place.
The visual picture came out very cute, fabulously childish and Mexican bright and sunny. Separately pleased with the animation inserts. Humor, on the contrary, pumped up - there are too many Hollywood clichés and not in the best performance.
Director and performer of the main role Eugenio Derbez genre instructions exactly does not follow. Transformations from comedy to melodrama, and from melodrama to tragic drama occur, although unexpectedly for the viewer, but very organically. Then you laugh, then you cry, or all together, just like in life.
This summer, when the continuation of the epic about the X-Men, the new “Planet of the Apes”, the tale of Noah and Hercules and other large-scale blockbusters, sometimes you want to see something less dynamic and special effect-containing, restless and soulful. Surprisingly, but to meet such requests can at first glance unremarkable comedy Mexican production “Instructions are not attached”.
Let’s mention one of the key points at once: the word “comedy” in relation to this film should be taken in combination with another genre – “drama”. In modern mass cinema, these two concepts are extremely rare at the same time. The distinction is very clear: either the viewer keeps his fists clenched, worries about the fate of the heroes and tears to the end, or he skates on the floor from laughter from beginning to end of the film screening. The creators of “Instruction” managed to combine both, making, perhaps, one of the most worthy and interesting films of this month.
However, the plot does not at all portend anything special: a stupid womanizer from the city of Acapulco, changing girls like photos on the desktop of a computer, is unexpectedly handed a baby. “This is your daughter!” he hears her mother’s phrase, which immediately disappears, flying home to the United States. What do we do next? Of course, to return the child, because to change his loose lifestyle, the hero of the film is clearly in no hurry. Wanting to return the girl to her mother and getting to Los Angeles, a Mexican suddenly falls on the head of a high-paying job as a stuntman in Hollywood, he does not find the mother of the child and begins to live a completely new life of a caring and loving father.
But what do you do when your daughter is seven years old and her mother suddenly appears on the horizon with an irresistible desire to take her child? To fight to the last, to face fate? And most importantly, how to explain to your daughter what is happening around?
The first thing that a sophisticated viewer can notice is the Mexican flavor, which is impregnated with the film. It is not only that throughout the film we hear voice-over Spanish and soundtracks of Latin American origin. In addition, we will not see the scene-claws characteristic of Hollywood films, the plot chain that can be easily predicted in advance, the actors who flash in each first film premiere, humor that does not rise above the belt.
Of course, after the usual movie comedies for the mass audience, this film may seem a little protracted, not “rusty” enough and with an unacceptable ending. The truth is there, of course. But sometimes it is useful to come down from heaven to earth, and coming to the movie with a funny poster, after 35-40 minutes of laughter suddenly begin to empathize with the characters, and after the end of the tape to think about the eternal: family and children, children and parents, fear and fearlessness, life and death.
Where are they making movies today? Of course, in Hollywood. He's here and there. We know some directors from California, actors, millions of budgets, the way of life of the “new world”, which dictates fashion and trends in film art. It's an authority on "good movies" and fresh ideas, and somehow forgotten that talent still has no nationality. And therefore, the best films at the Oscars of recent years can not be compared with the brilliant tape of Eugenio Derbez “No se Aceptan Devoluciones” (here explained the errors and inaccuracies of the translation, so let the title remain in the original language).
On screen, we see a story told slowly, in a quiet, pleasant voice, seemingly a bit of a sad man reminiscing about some episode of his life starting at $10. In his words, a lot of funny, and funny goes along with sad. But life is a struggle, and smiling through tears and pain is the highest art in the world. No matter what. Even at the end of this amazing story, which will not leave anyone indifferent. In it, the world is turned upside down in an instant, and it takes some time to recover, realizing that this is how it should have happened. Even more, everything always happens, even though it seems to be just a movie.
Turns out, no, it's not easy. A movie with a capital letter. Great work by talented people.
Another version of the already classic cinematic story about a man and a baby that suddenly appeared literally in his arms. This time, the narrative is titled “Instructions Not Attached” and the setting is Mexico.
Although for playboy Valentine with a silly hairstyle, the appearance of a breast daughter turns out to be a huge surprise. The hero from Acapulco, however, quickly (which speaks in his favor) decides that he should take care of the baby, and his life is now obliged to go on another more responsible path, where there is no place for idleness and endless love affairs. The authors of the film did not make a separate line out of how the new father is aware of his new position. The central story is not how Valentine comes to new values, but how he adapts these values to his own way of life and puts into practice.
After the 40th minute, the film turns from a frivolous comedy into a story with some serious overtones - as it turns out, the happiness of the family idyll becomes not entirely cloudless. Derbes strives to make his film as significant as possible, and not just a thoughtless comedy, watching which the viewer experiences nothing but bouts of laughter. The relationship between the characters, which includes the mother of the girl Maggie, becomes increasingly filled with different emotional shades.
A side storyline director Eugenio Derbez (he is also part-time and the lead actor) makes the fight of the hero of the film with his own fears, it turns out a little clumsy, however, he tries. There are no special delights in the film, which, however, is not a prerequisite for a comedy film, but there is a small animated insert. In addition, "Instructions Not Attached" has a rather atmospheric and pleasant soundtrack, which includes incendiary Latin motifs and even Frank Sinatra.
In addition, the director obviously likes the work of Adam Sandler, whose image is shown several times on the screen. Derbes, however, to explosive and full of unstoppable fun pictures Sandler does not reach, but what he follows the precepts of his idol, is the combination of comedy and history is not so simple as it seems at first glance. But the parody of Johnny Depp was a little extra in the film.
But the most important thing about this film is that by the end it will radically change its tone. The major will suddenly become a minor, and the plot will make a rather dashing and certainly unpredictable turn. In this case, it doesn’t look like a writer’s whim or anything like that. The surprise here does not look like an accident, it completes the narrative and makes it more meaningful.
The story of Valentine, who becomes an exemplary father, and his daughter Maggie, occupying a two-hour timekeeping unusual for ordinary comedy, is kind, simple, sometimes filled with a little silly jokes, a film about overcoming their own fears and the necessary responsibility that must be taken for granted. The importance of appreciating every minute of life. After watching, you will certainly become a little sad, so if you are not ready for this, then “Instructions are not included” is not what you need.