Flowers

A simple but compelling mystery makes filmmakers Jon Garaño and Jose Mari Goenaga's Flowers—Spain's official Oscar entry last year—an irresistible character study, especially when the story's core enigma suddenly shifts from one person to another. Ane (Nagore Aranburu), an office worker at a construction firm, is in her early 40s but is experiencing menopause. Just when she's feeling old before her time, Ane begins receiving weekly flowers from an unknown source. Although this secret admirer is causing her husband anxiety, Ane privately basks in the attention, pulling her into a more secretive, withdrawn life. Eventually, she learns the sender's identity, and her subsequent actions cause several kinds of alarm in that person's family. Flowers loses some of its riveting appeal once the cat is out of the bag, as the narrative shifts focus to such universal matters as secrets, lies, grudges, and forgiveness among parents and children, spouses, etc. But before that the film serves up a good riddle. Recommended. (T. Keogh)