Solas

The title of this film (translation: "alone") speaks volumes about the bitterly estranged mother and daughter at its center, who are forced back into each other's lives by the hospitalization of their hateful husband/father. Angry alcoholic Maria (Ana Fernandez) is alone because her entire personality is a defense mechanism, while her weary, withered, and aged mother (Maria Galiana) is alone because she's spent a lifetime of holding her tongue around her choleric, belittling husband. The climate between the two women is uncomfortably acrimonious, but slowly, tentatively, they begin to set aside their practiced antagonism and repair the lines of communication in their relationship. Profoundly affecting performances from the leads powerfully illustrate the raw-nerve sentiments that pulse through this potent, poignant, outstanding film, which dominated the 2000 Goya awards in Spain. Highly recommended. (R. Blackwelder)