OUR FATHER (Chile)

Pedro, Roberto and Meche have been summoned to Valparaiso after their 72 year-old father is hospitalized. The first half of Our Father (Padre Nuestro) is a road movie as the siblings, along with Pedro's Argentine wife Maite, make the hour-long drive from Santiago. The drive is interspersed with flashbacks to each receiving a phone call from Rosa, Caco's second wife. Pedro, the oldest, has lied to Maite about undergoing fertility tests because he believes he's sterile and fears Maite will leave him when she finds out. Meche, who suffers from bulimia, is the one who found out about her father's affair with Rosa when her parents where still married. She is still quite angry at her father and has kept a distance from him for years. Roberto, the youngest, has not told anyone that he separated from his wife months ago. Caco turns out to be quite a character, a gregarious bon vivant with a great sense of humor. He is on the verge of dying but vows to go his own way. After the others return briefly to Santiago, he gets Roberto to "borrow" an ambulance and take him to his old haunts by the waterfront. They have a ball at a bar owned by an old friend of Caco's and visit a lively bordello. At sundown, Caco gets Roberto to drive him to the beach town where they used to go on vacation. Caco's dream of reuniting the whole family one last time is realized there.

This film, written and directed by Rodrigo Sepulveda, shares thematic elements with The Royal Tenenbaums and The Barbarian Invasions but can't quite reach their high level of artistry. Our Father is impeccably directed and thoroughly enjoyable though. Veteran Chilean thespian Jaime Vadell seems to be having a blast playing Caco, and Cecilia Roth (as Maite) is always a welcome presence. The problem with Our Father is that the compelling issues raised during its first half are abandoned in order to grant Caco one last joyride and the conflict-free reunion that is his final wish.