Todos lo saben (2018)

Watch it in original Spanish, if you can, to live the actors at their fullest.

Fmovies: The movie starts 30' after you 'll push play. The first 30' are useless crap not related to the core play. And then...it's slow. The end is like the movie just stops in the middle of the story / plot. They should have cut 30' in the beginning, make it quicker and add some useful minutes in the end.

I suggest this movie to whom loves humanity. The director knows how to open your mind and feeling.

Todos lo saben fmovies. This is a great movie in all respects. Everything is just about right. The plot is intelligent, the script doesn't require you to skip through hoops, all the characters are believable and show their depth as the movie progresses, and ho boy, what a cast! Even the extras are good and the supporting cast is amazing, but Penélope Cruz and Xavier Bardem show in this movie that they are two of the greatest living actors. And if you want to see how to do handheld camera work, this is it. If I had to pick a single movie from 2018, this would be it.

Everybody Knows evokes some contemporary moral dilemmas that play out in melodramatic relationships complicated by the questionable bond of trust among husbands, wives, and lovers. This movie is another perfect addition to Persian director Asghar Farhadi's resume as he is approaching international recognition by writing and directing multicultural film that includes actors such as Cruz and Bardem. This power couple make the film a pleasure to witness in terms of acting, as they are giving us pure emotions in their original language which seems effortless to both. A very emotional and thought-provoking journey that ends with all plot questions answered but leaves with the morality of the story to deal with on you.

In order to get to a point where the story really begins to play out, there is a very long and unfocused backstory introduction. We don't really know what we are supposed to be taking note of. We feel like a fly on the wall, or indeed the drone filming the family wedding...too distant to be engaged in the real actions. We are given a few mis-directions and red herrings, not that we could ever work this out to begin with. We start to believe that a teenage girl has set up a huge scam. This is preposterous but we do so anyway. One character does suspect the truth and is alone in speaking out. Everyone else tip toes about keeping the secrets everyone else also knows. The victims are ultimately the ones who try to make amends. It's a sad tale where no one wins. A subtle and well made film of toxic family closeness.