YOU'LL BE BACK (VOLVERAS) Rating: (out of 5 stars) Director: Antonio Chavarrias Producer: Antonio Chavarrias Writer: Antonio Chavarrias Director of Photography: Guillermo Granillo Cast: Tristan Ulloa, Unax Ugalde, Elisabeth Cervantes, Joana Rane Visit the IMDB page for full cast and crew

More 2003 LA Film Festival reviews.

Review by: Warren Curry
6/23/03

The Spanish movie You'll Be Back is another example of how boring cinematic nihilism can be. This film does nothing that hasn't been done 1000X before (in many cases much better), flailing around listlessly and going absolutely nowhere. Antonio Chavarrias is a competent director -- his film boasts quality production values, he gets decent performances from his cast, and he possesses a good eye for composition. But none of these attributes can mask the fact that his film has nothing intriguing to say and goes about doing so in the least engaging ways.

You'll Be Back is a basic, bland story of blind family loyalty. Ignacio (Unax Ugalde) seems to have everything going for him, namely a beautiful girlfriend and a full academic scholarship to an American college. Now that I've divulged this information, you must be wondering, how does it all go wrong? Enter Ignacio's gambling-addict brother, Carlos (Tristan Ulloa). The two siblings haven't seen each other in years, so when they accidentally meet up again, it's only a matter of time before Carlos' bad influence overwhelms Ignacio. Carlos is in debt to the wrong people, and Ignacio feels a family duty to stand by his brother through thick and…well…thick. Things go from predictably bad to predictably worse, and most predictably I couldn't have been any less interested as the final story beats unfolded.

Allow me to reveal something -- I like movies about the shady world of gambling. Heck, just show me a close-up of poker chips and usually I'll start breaking out accolades like, "A strong contender for best film of the year!" You'll Be Back is set partially in this world -- an environment that is generally exciting by default -- but Chavarrias deadens the pace to such an extent that I was unable to derive even the smallest voyeuristic thrill from this film.

Pushing aside my disappointment that the movie wasn't exactly what I wanted it to be (which I completely understand is not a terribly valid criticism), it remains a poorly executed family drama. After having spent so much time away from his brother, Ignacio should really know better than to get caught up in Carlos' troubles. His sensible parents have all but written their eldest child off, and Ignacio's willingness to so easily comply with his descent is totally unearned. His utter helplessness is difficult to buy, which makes the character cheap and insubstantial.

Chavarrias' film just feels like a morbid exercise in trying to depict pain -- as if he were told by his financiers, "That's the goal, now figure out a way to get there." He creates this mood effectively, but doesn't feel the need to do anything with it, except force an uninspired, by-the-numbers story down your throat. Sometimes grim, downbeat films like You'll Be Back can tap into fascinatingly dark terrain; other times their oppressiveness can nearly put you to sleep. This is unquestionably one of those other times.

(Screened at the 2003 Los Angeles Film Festival)

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