El muerto y ser feliz (2012)
Release Year: 2012
Nation: Argentina, France, Spain
Alternative Title: Martwy i szczesliwy, The Dead Man and Being Happy
Director: Javier Rebollo
Writer: Javier Rebollo, Lola Mayo, Salvador Roselli
Production & Genre
Producer: Producer: Damián París, José Nolla, Lola Mayo, Luis Miñarro, Alex Zito, Jérôme Vidal
Companies: Eddie Saeta, Icónica, Lolita Films, Utópica Cine, Noodles Production, TV3, Picnic Producciones, Nunchaku Producciones, TVE
Budget: N/A
Awards & Similar
Awards:
Similar:
Keywords
Keywords: countryside, buenos aires, argentina, black humor, road trip, hospital, dog, hired killer
Story
A Spaniard in Argentina becomes aware of his approaching death while staying at a hospital, so he decides to run away from Buenos Aires and start a trip up North, heading nowhere in particular.
Summary
"The Dead Man and Being Happy" (2012) is a Spanish-Argentine black comedy road movie about a terminally ill, aging Spanish hitman named Santos living in Argentina. Upon realizing he is dying of cancer in a Buenos Aires hospital, he decides to escape his fate and flee north on a final, aimless journey across the country's desolate landscapes.
During his travels on secondary roads, he encounters a mature, rare woman named Erika, who becomes his travel companion (or "squire"). The film is a tranquil, ironic, and lugubrious reflection on life, death, and freedom, following their journey with a supply of morphine and a gun that never fires. The narrative is notably enhanced by the constant use of omniscient off-screen narrators who describe the action as it happens.
