'Tanta Agua' DVD: Perfect Summer Family Film

The "why we selected" essay that uber-awesome Film Movement writes for the Uruguayan drama "Tanta Agua," which Movement is releasing on DVD on May 13 2014, is so spot on that limiting this review to a reprint of those two paragraphs is incredibly tempting.

Readers of past  Unreal TV reviews of the always excellent Movement releases know that that distributor operates a Film of the Month Club that consists of top-notch (mostly foreign) films from every genre. Movement following up "Tanta" with the fairly self-explanatory French biopic "The Jewish Cardinal" a week later is a special treat. Unreal TV plans a review of "Cardinal" during the weekend of May 17, 2014.

The proverbial simple (and universal) premise behind "Tanta" is that middle-aged middle-class divorced dad Alberto takes the kids whom he does not often see on a washed-out in every sense trip to a seedy resort. Early teens Lucia and tween Federico literally could be the kids next door in virtually any country.

The following clip, courtesy of YouTube, of the trailer for "Tanta" wonderfully conveys the spirit and universal nature of the film.

Parents and kids alike can relate to the valiant efforts of Alberto to lift the spirits of his kids and have plans for just one trip to the pool or visit to the local bottling plant not fall flat. The kids are understanding and good sports but still look as if even being in school is more fun than this adventure.

Lucia takes center stage when meeting a fellow resort guest who is the same age as her leads to typical teen girl (and boy) antics. The ensuing mayhem provides a test of whether father knows best.

Federico additionally hold true to his role of kid brother; he also makes a new friend and sustains an injury that requires visiting the local hospital.

The drama that this lad contributes comes in the form of the mother of his new buddy playing the role of the unreasonable parent of the friend of your kid. This requires that Alberto once again exercise parental judgment.

Movement sums up the value of this simple tale of simple folks by stating that presenting a good film does not require intense drama or other heightened emotions; telling an everyday tale to which virtually anyone can relate is enough if it is presented as artfully as in "Tanta."

The aptly chosen bonus short English film "Home Road Movies" is a more clever and witty offering. This artistically animated film relays the bond between a middle-class British man and the family car that becomes his pride and joy.

The 12 minutes of "Home" provide a surprisingly full portrait of the patriarch of the family and their adventures in continental Europe. It additionally puts an interesting twist on the "Cats in the Cradle" aspect of the story of the family.

The bottom line regarding both "Tanta" and "Home" are that they are a great way to get in the proper mindset for a summer family vacation; they also whet our appetites for the next offering from "Movement."

Anyone with questions or comments regarding either film is welcome to email me; you can also connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.