7:35 de la manana

October 28, 2005 9:59 AM

Last night I didn't fall asleep until early in the morning. And I've got a long day ahead of me. So, what the hell is making me smile at seven thirty-five in the morning? (embedded quicktime)
posted by still (57 comments total)

meh.
posted by Billistics at 10:01 AM on October 28, 2005

I got half way through it, it's 1:06 in the afternoon, it did NOT make me smile...

I turned it off...
posted by HuronBob at 10:07 AM on October 28, 2005

MeFites just love to express their disappointment. It's a time-honored tradition.
posted by xmutex at 10:08 AM on October 28, 2005

No love even for the name "Nacho Vigalondo"? You people are depressing.
posted by WolfDaddy at 10:11 AM on October 28, 2005

It made me smile. Must be having a good day.
posted by brautigan at 10:14 AM on October 28, 2005

it's just that MeFites should NEVER be disappointed...
posted by HuronBob at 10:14 AM on October 28, 2005

I liked it. It was cute. And Nacho has the best email address I've seen in a while.
posted by squidlarkin at 10:16 AM on October 28, 2005

Can you help me out here and explain what about the movie made you smile? Aside from the ridiculously slow download I found the film to be rather, well, dull. But I only watched about a third of it before I got tired of waiting for it to download so maybe I missed the car chase and the giant robot monkeys or something.
posted by fenriq at 10:17 AM on October 28, 2005

I do have to say that a guy named Nacho is pretty good. Does he know how cheesy he is?
posted by fenriq at 10:18 AM on October 28, 2005

I didn't like it at first either, but then it all began to make sense. Worth watching for the ending.
posted by Roger Dodger at 10:18 AM on October 28, 2005

It doesn't start making sense until about 2/3 the way through. Not to compare, but I suppose you all didn't enjoy your half-viewing of Memento either.
posted by dreamsign at 10:20 AM on October 28, 2005

See, I saw this last year when it got nominated for an Academy Award, and I really liked it. Sorry to hear everyone else is so dissapointed though-- I thought it had a lot of charm.
posted by mdbell79 at 10:24 AM on October 28, 2005

so...the car chase is at the end?
posted by HuronBob at 10:28 AM on October 28, 2005

memento...hmmm... I can't remember that...
posted by HuronBob at 10:30 AM on October 28, 2005

Haven't watched the film yet (still downloading) but I really liked the immediate insert of the two guys with the guitar and jump to the casino machines in the beginning. That was really great, just as a moment.

I have known two guys named Nacho. Both very good people.
posted by Peter H at 10:31 AM on October 28, 2005

Loved it - is that Vincent Gallo doing the music?
posted by oh pollo! at 10:37 AM on October 28, 2005

It's official: the internet has destroyed your attention span.

Yes, yours.
posted by joe lisboa at 10:40 AM on October 28, 2005

Thanks for the link - I enjoyed it. At first I thought it was just a quirky video about some guy who took his flirting cues from Los Lunis [qt] but its much, much darker than that.
posted by Staggering Jack at 10:41 AM on October 28, 2005

I liked the bit wher he blew himself up holding a huge bag of confetti. Kinda takes the edge of a suicide bombing.
posted by brautigan at 11:11 AM on October 28, 2005

Add an e and an extra f up there. Preview, brautigan, preview...
posted by brautigan at 11:12 AM on October 28, 2005

It's official: the internet has destroyed your attention span.

I never had one to begin with . . .

. . . look, a bird . . .
posted by JeffK at 11:25 AM on October 28, 2005

I quite enjoyed it until it turned creepy when that one guy couldn't finish reading his line.
posted by rhapsodie at 11:25 AM on October 28, 2005

Are you kidding? It was creepy from the moment she asked "What's with them?" and the server turned his back abruptly.

Pretty catchy song, and the ending couldn't have been any better. Definitely worth your time.
posted by mrgrimm at 11:33 AM on October 28, 2005

Okay, I'm convinced, I will give it another try later on tonight when I can download it and not worry about eating my office's meager shared bandwidth.
posted by fenriq at 11:38 AM on October 28, 2005

I didn't understand why she called the cops. It seemed unmerrited until that guy couldn't read his line. then I went .......ohh.....
posted by Parannoyed at 11:45 AM on October 28, 2005

It seemed unmerited by the fact that it's a restaurant, no one's moving or talking, and all the cell phones are at the feet of the waiter who is trying to silently catch her gaze?

That look he gave her, man. That was great. It telegraphed HOSTAGE SITUATION.
posted by jenovus at 12:16 PM on October 28, 2005

ah.. well I missed the phones at his feet. And maybe I'm not the best at reading people. And also maybe I just wanted it to be a big dopey attempt to get her attention, sans-splodeyness.

oh well.
posted by Parannoyed at 12:42 PM on October 28, 2005

Any film that doesn't prove its worth until the final third is garbage. There's nothing wrong with adding twists or whatever toward the end to change the audience's perception; but if you can't hold their attention until that point, you need to go back to pouring coffee at Starbucks.
posted by cribcage at 12:52 PM on October 28, 2005

The ambiguity is what makes it. Is he holding everybody hostage? Is that a real bomb? How should I feel about this musical -- its sweet, but...
posted by Ogre Lawless at 12:57 PM on October 28, 2005

very off-kilter, dark, black comedy. I liked it in a way.
posted by shoepal at 1:03 PM on October 28, 2005

Europeans don't do pop music very well.
posted by languagehat at 1:13 PM on October 28, 2005

SPOILERS AHEAD. Too late now anyway but yeah.

There really is no accounting for taste. I liked it the whole way through, but also thought the twist really put it over the top into "great" territory. One opinion, obviously.

Ogre Lawless, I think it is meant to be read completely straight. It explains all the weird behavior of the patrons the girl notices before the true situation is revealed (or even before he begins singing). It's these nuances of behavior, that don't quite fit with the whole "it's just a sweet little fansasy-absurd musical schtick" that made it interesting to me to watch. This guy has been stalking this girl, and now has effected this crazy scheme to hold everybody hostage to assist him in his big show tune to impress her. That's why everybody is sitting all fixed and silent, why they're all sneaking looks at her, why they've all dropped their cellphones (as he's menaced them with his bomb as they've tried to call for help), why they have to read their lines off of slips of paper, and why the one character freaks out and can't read his card at the pivotal moment, because he's so terrified. It's actually not sweet is the thing- it's a totally creepy, insane-obsessive stalker story.

I thought it was a great link.
posted by nanojath at 1:14 PM on October 28, 2005

If I ever blow myself up (not taking anyone with me dont worry), I'm adding confetti to the mix.
posted by lemonfridge at 1:44 PM on October 28, 2005

I have no idea why, but I really liked it.

Great post.
posted by Penks at 1:45 PM on October 28, 2005

Add me to the movie-likers, too. Well executed, so to speak.
posted by schmedeman at 1:48 PM on October 28, 2005

Heres a little more info on Nacho:

NACHO VIGALONDO (1977) has been awarded 16 national short film prizes in his various roles as actor, screenwriter and director for films including “Snuff Movie” and “Tomar algo por ahí y eso”. He has also worked as scriptwriter for “Gran Hermano”, the Spanish version of Big Brother, and has acted in the film “Un pasaje del terror”. The Sci-Fi trilogy “Código 7” and the screenplay for Koldo Serra’s “El tren de la bruja” are some of his most recent projects. In the meantime, he often appears in Spanish commercials advertising major optical lab firms and fast food companies. He has recently finished writing the screenplay for the feature films “Horas de máxima audiencia” and “Noches Transarmónicas”, slated to be shot shortly by César Velasco Broca. He is going from short subjects to feature length films…but the subject is still time. Daily Variety reports KV Entertainment and Ibarretxe and Company, a Basque production company, will back Vigalondo's feature debut Los Cronocrimenes, or Time Crimes.

posted by Staggering Jack at 2:19 PM on October 28, 2005

This film is much better in the theatre. Saw it last year at an Academy Award nominated Short Film series and loved it. It's too subtle visually for Quicktime. Full size, the initial (and inexplicable) discomfiture of everyone in the cafe is extremely creepy, making the transition into a catchy musical number both hilareous and disquieting. Award for best use of confetti by an evil 7:35 bomber what bombs at 7:35.
posted by Carmody'sPrize at 2:36 PM on October 28, 2005

And that, my friends, is why we never hear from Miguel anymore.

KABOOM!
posted by ColdChef at 2:50 PM on October 28, 2005

That was a great link. Thanks.
posted by mmahaffie at 2:57 PM on October 28, 2005

There's no accounting for taste I guess. I loved it.
The last shot of the woman's face was like a mirror of my own expression. Thanks for the link still.
posted by Popular Ethics at 3:24 PM on October 28, 2005

I thought it was terrific. Creepy, frightening and funny at the same time. Thanks, still.
posted by LeeJay at 4:44 PM on October 28, 2005

cribcage writes "Any film that doesn't prove its worth until the final third is garbage. There's nothing wrong with adding twists or whatever toward the end to change the audience's perception; but if you can't hold their attention until that point, you need to go back to pouring coffee at Starbucks."


Ok, sure. If we're talking about a two hour long movie, yeah, I'll agree. But this damned thing is only a few minutes long - so what, everything you watched has to be fapow-zing-wowie every three seconds?

I mean, c'mon.

Personally, I thought it was fantastic. But I would have liked to have seen a higher quality one - ah well.
posted by vernondalhart at 7:49 PM on October 28, 2005

This gives 'Somebody set us up the bomb' perfect meaning.
posted by gren at 11:12 PM on October 28, 2005

(I really really loved this short, and now wish I spoke spanish so I could understand all the other movies and blog bits @ http://www.nachovigalondo.com/)
posted by gren at 11:14 PM on October 28, 2005

Nothing makes me smile at 7:35 in the morning (I absolutely hate the time period from 7—10a), but when I got out of bed yesterday around noon I watched this, and liked it a greal deal. Especially the way people read their lines off papers held in their hands, and the ending (the last image is particularly good). Thanks for the link; I hadn't heard of Mr. Nacho.

I may have screwed up by not trying to figure it out, just watching it. But probably she called the cops on the guy because "you always hurt the one you love."
posted by LeLiLo at 11:50 PM on October 28, 2005

It starting interesting me about 30 seconds in. Pretty much for the isolated diner sounds, I'm just a romantic for a b/w diner. Then the marmalade line caught me, his quirky foolish rambling wasn't the cheesy choreographed stuff I expected.

It bums me out that some might find it boring. All the aborted attention spans... so sad.
posted by Jack Karaoke at 7:01 AM on October 29, 2005

everything you watched has to be fapow-zing-wowie every three seconds?

You said it yourself: different standards apply to different circumstances. Maybe this is your first week online, but internet movies are a Canadian dime a dozen. It had better be goddamn fantastic, immediately, or that window's gettin' closed. Credits? Bye.
posted by cribcage at 7:32 AM on October 29, 2005

You said it yourself: different standards apply to different circumstances. Maybe this is your first week online, but internet movies are a Canadian dime a dozen. It had better be goddamn fantastic, immediately, or that window's gettin' closed. Credits? Bye.

It's not an internet movie, it's a proper short movie, made to be shown in the cinema. Most shorts made for the cinema have opening and/or closing credits. It now happens to be available online to view, for people who didn't catch it at any showings. You can't apply the same rules to it as you would to a viral internet caper, it's not some guy getting whacked in the balls or a cat falling over. It's a short movie, not a comedy clip.

Your loss, though.
posted by ralphyk at 9:43 AM on October 29, 2005

While Internet films are a dime a dozen, Academy Award nominated short films are five a year. Your loss, cribcage.
posted by Staggering Jack at 10:08 AM on October 29, 2005

cribcage writes "Maybe this is your first week online, but internet movies are a Canadian dime a dozen. It had better be goddamn fantastic, immediately, or that window's gettin' closed."

What the fuck kind of dig is that? First week online?

Anyhow, what Staggering Jack said. Your loss.
posted by vernondalhart at 10:35 AM on October 29, 2005

Creepy and great at the same time :)
posted by flippant at 12:16 PM on October 29, 2005

cribcage: no one is asking you to watch the movie for their own sake. If you have trouble understanding anything, then that is something you want to take care of on your own time. Please refrain from letting us know about it...
posted by Pacheco at 11:21 PM on October 29, 2005

I loved this. The subtitles were a bit distracting for me, but I probably would have only caught half of the words without them. Catchy tune, fantastic film.
posted by kyleg at 1:28 AM on October 30, 2005

A bunch of fuckers cant watch a five minute video? God damn. If your attention span is that fucking short, fine. But dont bitch about how it didnt make sense if you stopped halfway through.
posted by JokingClown at 2:13 AM on October 30, 2005

Me likes. Makes me miss the breakfasts of Spain.
posted by Dick Paris at 3:29 AM on October 30, 2005

Europeans don't do pop music very well.

It's worth repeating.
posted by Wolof at 3:38 AM on October 30, 2005

I'm pretty sure this is a double post, as I remember seeing it here a year ago. It's worth having it reposted, though, because it is a good short film. Sad to see it go unappreciated by a number of people on here, however.
posted by jimmy at 4:50 AM on October 31, 2005