Simply Perfect

How sad is this?

A Masterpiece!

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Wrinkles, directed by Ignacio Ferreras, was released on September 19, 2011, and appears to be set in this time period as well (the kids all bring their new high tech gifts when they visit their grandparents in the nursing home). Spain, a country that has traditionally had very strong family values, is transitioning into a society where children want to be more independent from their families. This has caused an increase in the amount of elderly people living in a nursing home as opposed to the houses of their children. As the film follows Emilio and his group of friends throughout their days in the nursing home, their emotions and attitudes towards life are revealed. This makes it easy to see that even as people grow older they still have feelings and desires for how they want to spend their time. As the viewer becomes attached to the people in the nursing home a message is sent that family is still a valuable concept, and even if taking care of older members is hard it is something that should be done. This story was adapted from a comic written by Paco Roca, so it was an animated movie with the drawing style being as similar to Paco Roca's as possible. This animation can either work in favor or against the message of the movie. The cartoons may attract more kids to watching it (although I would not say that it was a kid's movie), and therefore more kids will grow up with the idea that older people have feelings too, and should not be avoided just because they have health issues. This also puts the idea that they should help their parents as they age while the child is still young, so when they have to start taking care of them it is not a foreign concept. One issue with cartoons, however, is that some people have a harder time connecting with animated characters as opposed to those played by actual actors. This poses the problem that both teenagers and adults may not relate the characters in the movie with their own parents, and therefore not walk away with the same lesson as children do. Along with the main lesson of taking care of elderly family members, another important part of the story was watching the character development of Miguel. Throughout most of the movie Miguel was only concerned about his own happiness. He would often make comments about how not having family or friends was good because "they didn't do any good anyway". For example, whenever people would talk about their families he would bring up the fact that they had dumped their parents there anyways, or whenever Dolores feeds Modesto he talks about how she is wasting her time. Because of this fear of becoming close to people, Miguel typically cheats them out of their money by offering false favors, or he just does not build friendships at all. Something changes with Emilio, however, and Miguel does all he can to keep him from moving upstairs to the place he calls "the land of the lost souls", which is really just the assisted living portion of the retirement home. By the end of the movie, Emilio has been moved upstairs and instead of just forgetting about him Miguel moves up with him to be his caretaker. A montage of scenes also shows Miguel carrying out all of the favors he falsely offered other residents such as him buying a cell phone for the woman who just wants to call her family. This change in Miguel develops the main lesson of the story which is that the elderly are people too, and shows how people can change their habits no matter how old they are (proving that you can teach old dogs new tricks). As much as I enjoyed watching Wrinkles, I feel that it should come with a warning. Cartoons are typically happy, light-hearted movies, and Wrinkles was not that. Although the story is centered around a newly formed friendship between Emilio and Miguel, the harsh reality of growing older is not ignored. Memory loss, lack of mobility, family abandonment, and death are all aspects of aging that are highlighted in this movie making some scenes incredibly hard to watch. For example, one sad scene is when Dolores takes care of Modesto. Dolores, who is still able to live on her own, decided to move into the nursing home with Modesto in order to take care of him (she also eventually moves into the assisted living side with him which has far less socializing options). Modesto suffers from Alzheimer's and very rarely shows that he even remembers or appreciates Dolores. This scene shows how hard it can be to take care of elderly members of society. It also shows how as people get older and older, they also become more and more dependent on others to survive. As upsetting as this movie was, I would recommend it to anyone. There may be many sad scenes, but I also think that these serve as valuable lessons to younger generations. Along with scenes depicting the aging process, there are also scenes that show how friendships can develop at any age, and that no matter how old someone gets they still have feelings and opinions too. These concepts send an important lesson to the young people of today that even though taking care of elderly family members is hard, it is something that should be done because they will be grateful (and reminds kids, that they too, will age).

I'll cut right to the chase—Paco Roca's story "Wrinkles" is exceptionally well done but also extremely difficult to watch. Some of this might be because I am soon approaching my 50th birthday, though I would think anyone watching the film would feel a great sense of dread about old age, dementia and stagnation—as they are the themes of this depressing story.Wrinkles is an animated film from Spain and although I always prefer subtitled films, cartoons can usually be dubbed without a serious problem for the viewer and this is definitely true of this film. Plus, in a nice nod to the original cast, when the English language version ended, they listed not only the English language voice actors but the original Spanish ones as well. The movie follows the lives of Emilio (Martin Sheen) and Miguel (George Coe)—two men who have been forced to move into a retirement home. Much of the film centers on Emilio, as he moves from living with his son to the nursing home. The transition isn't easy, as Emilio is losing his independence and the staff at the place treat the residents in a rather patronizing manner. Miguel, a long-time resident, helps Emilio to get used to the place. Sadly, you soon realize that Emilio is slowly losing his mind to Alzheimer's and Miguel is determined to fight to stay alert and mentally sound. How the two become friends and deal with this institutional life is the focus of the film and the final portion shows how Miguel adapts to the loss of his friend…or at least the man who his friend used to be.The least satisfying thing about "Wrinkles" is the animation. It isn't bad—just don't expect Disney or Miyazaki! In many ways, the artwork looks a lot like the great TV series "The Critic". This isn't a serious problem and didn't harm the story—but it certainly isn't the strong point of the film. As to the strength of the film, it's the writing and dialog. It is an expertly crafted film and it was nice to see an adult animated movie instead of the usual kiddie fare. The film never shies away from the depressing aspects of institutional living and the characters seemed very real. This makes for a very good film but also for a super- depressing one. Because you care for the characters, it hurts to see them slip away…and it reminds you that it will most likely happen to you as well. Because of this, while I appreciated the film it is clearly a difficult film for many to watch. Such lines as 'you you're your whole…and THIS is how it ends…" clearly aren't examples of a feel-good movie! The seriously depressed should also avoid it as I just can only imagine watching the film would make this worse.

I saw this in the HK European Union Film festival, and thought it was a nice story, very well done but for some reason, the tone is a bit flat. It seems to want to make it "suspenseful" with what goes on "upstairs", and attempts to shock the audience although the answer was already given away in the first 5 min.It's a story that is universal, when the kid decide to send their burdensome grandparents to a home since they could no longer cope with looking after them. In comes Emilio, an ex-bank worker who refuses to see reality, and the quirky Argentinian Miguel who helped bring a bit more comical relief.While it started well, with the introduction of an interesting array of characters, it fell a little flat along the way as it didn't seem to know where it wanted to go with all these personalities. In the end, they redeemed the confusion by explaining a little the story behind some characters, and then a half-hearted attempt to bring drama into the movie that ended tragically and too quickly to make any notable impact... and then Emilio becomes a vegetable. Then suddenly you're introduced to the foul mouth paraplegic squatter whose presence is like a red herring...If you're into a film that is full of action and coups, this unfortunately doesn't cut it. It's just melancholic, nothing more. Animation is well done, and the story rounded enough, but at the end, it's another story about grandparents left in old people's homes... it has been done to death in a way. The final credit song was a nice touch, sung by a real life woman (they said 101 years old?) in one of the homes, with ironic lyrics and slightly foul language! Overall, it's just well done, nothing more.

"Wrinkles" is a very nice animated film from Spain, where the melancholic tone of the story is combined with lots of tender and funny elements, making this a highly enjoyable experience to watch.Based in a graphic novel done by the Spanish comic book artist Paco Roca, this film is both a heartwarming tale of friendship, but also it also works very well as a harsh criticism of how modern society treats the elderly, always from a very nostalgic, but at the same time gentle perspective.The animation from this movie is simple, but well done, with a very pleasant character design style. The sceneries are pretty, giving the excellent story an appropriate atmosphere, while the music fits perfectly well with the mood of the story, capturing the both the sadness and happiness displayed by this story.The combination of seriousness with an almost childish innocence gives this film a special tone, being one of those films that one enjoys to watch, but that make you think and meditate and the same time. "Wrinkles" is a solid animated movie, which deserves way more recognition. Along with "Persepolis" it is one of the best animated adaptations of a graphic novel, examining the problems of the elderly in modern society from a mature and honest perspective