Mr Kaplan (2014)

	Also Known As: Senor Kaplan
	Year of first release: 2014
	Director: Álvaro Brechner
	Actors: Héctor Noguera, Néstor Guzzini
	Country: UY, E, D
	Genre: Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 06.07.2015,Schauburg, OV sneak preview, Spanish/Yiddish version with German subtitles
Synopsis: After fleeing Europe for Uruguay during WWII as a lonely kid, Jacob Kaplan (Noguera) built a quiet life. Now 76, he needs to find his quest in life. After learning of a mysterious German prowling the shores of a nearby beach, he becomes convinced that he's found a Nazi in hiding and plans to expose him. He involves a freidns of the family, the looser Wilson Contreras (Guzzini).
Review: The story is quite nice about the quest for a sense in life, even if coming late. The personality and verb of the old boy Kaplan is very funny and I have seen me both complice and audience. Unfortunately a lot of scenes hesitate between drama and comedy and finally do not reach any of both.  Both actors Noguera and Guzzini fit to their role and can be therefore very funny and also dramatic. The dialogues are very good and the voice of Noguera brings also a lot of warmth and texture to his character of grumpy old man. Even if some dialogues sound like from Gran Torino the voice and way to talk make it completely different. Noguera is an excellent actor!
Rating: 5 /10

Historia del miedo (2014)

	Also Known As: Histoire de la peur, History of fear
	Year of first release: 2014
	Director: Benjamin Naishtat
	Actors: Jonathan Da Rosa, Tatiana Giménez
	Country: RA, UY, F, D
	Genre: Drama, Documentary
	Conditions of visioning: 23.09.2014, Kursaal2, FSSDZ2014, Spanish with English subtitles
Synopsis: An helicopter warns the inhabitants of a Barrio (neighbourhood) that they have one week to leave. The loud speaker does not work. There a family faces unexplained small fires just behind their property. Tati and Pola work there as servant and gardener.
Review:  This is the first movie I see in the Donostia Zinemaldia 2014, the Film Festival of San Sebastian. This multiple social portrait presents different categories of people in the daily life and their fears, often linked to the unknown and its metaphor the dark in opposition to the light. Black out during the night having the kids playing outside; house alarm belling without knowing why; dogs barking in the far. The sudden appearance and disappearance of lights have been used a lot to generate this atmosphere. The sound track without music has been worked a lot to create atmospheres supporting the expression of fear. During the Q&A after the movie, the director explained his will to show that fear is amorph and therefore he did not want to show it via images but via atmospheres.
Rating: 6 /10