It's obvious from the opening shot of this Spanish language film that it will be extremely beautiful to look at. The photography is simply luscious. Every moment in the film is like eye candy. The lead in the film, Barbara Mori, is perhaps the most beautiful woman working in cinema today. Wow. She is lovely. She has only been working in film for five or six years, and the fact that she used to be a model is no surprise once you lay eyes on her. She's a darn good actress as well but it is her photogenic beauty that really makes us notice her in this film.

The story here seems nothing more than your typical TV novella. Mori's Zoe is stuck in a perfunctory and predictable marriage to Ignacio, a very well-to-do businessman. When we meet her husband's brother, Gonzalo, a fiery artist, and once we consider the title of the piece, we see where this film is headed almost immediately. There seems to be no surprises in store for us. We're wrong in thinking this, of course.

So, while the first half of this seemingly obvious storyline plays out, we simply enjoy the privilege of watching Mori as Zoe. And seeing the house she and her husband live in.

Oh my god! This house is stunningly beautiful.

I'm so gay. While Mori is running around on screen in bikinis and little tight designer dresses, I was marveling at how utterly divine this house is. This house is so amazing, the movie could be about it (and is mainly about it for 15 minutes or so) and still be utterly captivating. Stark, modern, utilitarian and chic, the house is made of concrete walls and beautiful light fixtures. There is a swimming pool that runs from inside the living room, under a wall, and outside next to a terrace. It is a gorgeous house. I'm not kidding you. See the movie just to see this house. It's like a gay architect's wet dream.

Ahem... anyway... There are also dramatic scenes and character interactions that do interest us in the first half of the movie. Mori works well with her two male co-stars and we really like her and sympathize with her (even though she should be happy with this gorgeous house. Who cares if her husband is frigid).

And then about halfway through the film - KA-POW, the plot takes a turn that I did not see coming. I was really surprised and interested by the way the story began to unfold here and just when I was getting bored, it took a detour that really floored me. I don't want to give away anything here. I'm sure other writers will. Trust me and see the film before you read too much about the plot.

"La Mujer de mi hermano" isn't going to be the best film you will ever see, but it is one of the most beautiful. And just when you get bored with it, it peaks your interest again with a plot twist or two that surprises quite adeptly. The only thing I didn't like in the story is how the younger brother is treated by his older sibling towards the end of the film. And, also, there is a really stereotypical gay character that is Zoe's friend (Bruno Bichir as Boris) whose so over-the-top he makes you a bit ill ("I am a philanthropist with my ass"), but his is easy to forgive when the character redeems himself as a person and friend to Zoe near the end of the film.

Overall, a really enjoyable and surprising film. The title, which seems to suggest where the plot will go, is actually only a hint at what lies in store for the viewer.

Notes:

In Spanish with subtitles.

Filmed mainly in Chile.

The film is being released in the USA by Lion's Gate and the company had a new logo on the front of the film print that I saw.

Released in Mexico in November of 2005, the film was released to a limited number of U.S. theaters in April of 2006.

Viewed in March of 2006 at a press sneak at the Regal Metropolitan. I sat by my friend Liz Lopez who writes for the Hispanic newspaper "El Mundo" here in Austin. We had a good time talking about the film after it was over.

Sadly, there was a rep from the marketing firm who presented the screening that watched the film with us and actually took a call and talked for about thirty seconds during the film's major plot twist. His phone was not on vibrate, it rang loudly for several seconds as he rifled through his bag to get it out and then he proceeded to simply sit in his seat and have a loud conversation without even trying to whisper, let alone leave the screening so as not to distract the audience. This really pissed me off and when I wrote the marketing firm an e-mail about the situation, they did not even respond to me. What the fuck is happening here? I didn't expect them to fire the guy but they could have at least responded to me and apologized or something. When the marketing firms representing films to the press are lackadaisical about being professional, it really reflects poorly on the film companies that hire them.

Report Card

Script: B+

Acting: A

Cinematography\Lighting: A+

Special Effects\Make Up: A+

Music: B

Final Grade: A