90
The New York Times by Stephen Holden
Galiana's quietly monumental performance is one for the ages.
Alone (Solas)
Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
- Spain,
- Canada
- 1999
- · 101m
Director
Benito Zambrano
Cast
María Galiana,
Ana Fernández,
Carlos Álvarez-Nóvoa,
Juan Fernández,
Antonio Dechent,
Miguel Alcíbar
Genre
Drama
Maria, whose parents live in the country, cannot stand her father's authoritarian ways and moves to the city. She finds a job as a cleaner and tries to survive in a wretched apartment in the shabby part of a big city. She is pregnant, and the fact that her boyfriend has abandoned her does not help matters. When her father goes to the hospital for an operation, her mother comes to stay with her. Her neighbor, an old recluse whose only friend is his dog, begins to come out of his shell and these three lost souls try to give each other the strength to start over.
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What are critics saying?
90
Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas
Alternately heart-wrenching, dismaying, raw and even funny, Solas is ultimately a wonderfully warm and embracing experience.
88
Baltimore Sun by Chris Kaltenbach
Unsparing and uplifting - a wickedly difficult combination to pull off, but one that gives the film an emotional weight that's impossible to dismiss.
88
Chicago Tribune by Michael Wilmington
A beautifully acted and deeply compassionate study of ordinary people coping with the vicissitudes of life.
80
Village Voice by Leslie Camhi
The fierce rigor of María Galiana's performance keeps this film from ever falling into sentimentality.
75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer by Sean Axmaker
Zambrano shows an impressive sensitivity toward his actors and their characters and never allows hopelessness to quash hope in this lovely film.
75
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
Splendidly acted, sensitively directed.
63
New York Post by Jonathan Foreman
A lovely, intelligent film from Spain about recognizable human beings with real-life problems.
60
TV Guide Magazine by Ken Fox
The acting is superb.
50
Austin Chronicle by Marc Savlov
Fernandez is excellent as the maladjusted daughter, but the film's heart and soul is embodied in Galina's noble, understated performance.
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