I don’t have any prejudices against art house films. I don’t mind that Duck Season is in black and white and is in Spanish with subtitles. However, what I can’t forgive it for is that it is boring.
Moko (Diego Cantano) and Flama (Daniel Miranda) are best friends and have all the makings for a wonderful Sunday afternoon. Moko’s mother has left them alone, they have money for pizza, two glasses filled to the brim with Coca-Cola, a bowl of chips, and an Xbox soccer game at the ready. That is until the power goes out. Now they’re bored out of their minds.
Their next door neighbor Rita (Danny Perea) comes over to use the gas oven to bake a cake. Feeling hungry the boys order a pizza. The pizza is delivered by Ulises (Enrique Arreola) who had to walk up eight flights of stairs to deliver it. The exhausted Ulises arrives only to be told by the boys that he’s 11 seconds late and that they get the pizza for free. This does not sit well with Ulises who tells the boys that he’s not leaving until they pay for the pizza and sits down in the doorway.
Meanwhile, Rita is making a mess of the kitchen. The power comes back on, so the boys challenge Ulises to the Xbox game – winner take all (pizza-wise that is). The winner is about to be declared when the power goes out again. The four sit around and ruminate on a painting above the television that Flama’s separating parents are fighting over. The painting is of a duck flying over a lake.
Rita’s cake is done, but is terrible. She declares that she’s going to make brownies instead – they’re easier you know. Moko has been helping Rita with her cake and they share a kiss, but Moko finds himself thinking about Flama when he kisses Rita. Later Rita does finally succeed in making the brownies, but they’re laced with pot. Soon everyone is high and acting goofy. What exactly will Mom think when she gets home to her wrecked house?
Preparing for an afternoon of fun
As I said before, I’m not against art house films but I do expect to at least be entertained by them. Duck Season is not a poorly acted movie, but there are numerous shots of that don’t really have much action to them. For example, we have a shot of Rita weighing a potato….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I suppose that the story just did not catch me. I kept looking at my watch and that is not a good sign.
Duck Season is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features are limited to the theatrical trailer.
Duck Season did not do anything for me. This does not mean that you might not enjoy if you want a Spanish coming of age drama. The problem for me was that the movie did not come close to entertaining or interesting me.
I’m going to split the rating down the middle since it didn’t appeal to me, but may find a more appreciative audience elsewhere.
Duck Season is now available at Amazon and AmazonUK . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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