Cartas para Jenny (2007) Reviews

• A young woman receives four letters her mother wrote to her before dying

  tolom33-12008-12-09

  Moving, if quite sentimental story of a young woman receiving through her father the letters her mother wrote to her before dying. She gets the first on her Bat Mitzva day. The second when she is about to get married, the third when she is expecting her first baby and the last, when she is in trouble and has great difficulty deciding how to proceed. Even though the action is framed within the life of a traditional Argentinian Jewish family, the core of the plot is universal to any mother-daughter relationship regardless of race or religion. We see a caring, loving mother facing the dilemma of wanting to be by her daughter's side at the most important times of her life, knowing full well she will be gone. The letters are her way to overcome the impossible, to talk to her child and be with her when she is most needed. I have not seen any other movie or play with a similar plot. It touches the heart of every parent. Is it a bit of a tear jerker? I have to say yes, and yet, I think it is quite honest as it deals with the loss of a parent at an early age, teen pregnancy and crucial decisions in the life of a teenager. Well acted, in particular, by Gimena Accardi, who gets great support by Manu Fullola and Martin Seefeld. The photography of Dario Sabina is superb, with exteriors of Israel and the Argentinian countryside (Province of San Luis ?).

• Four letters for my daughter

  jotix1002012-01-18

  "Letters for Jenny" is a sad story about a young Jewish woman who has to deal with the untimely death of a mother who loved her too much, preferring to leave this world than facing her own terminal illness. Jenny, who is from Argentina, finds herself in a dilemma as her musician boyfriend wants to make a career in Spain. The young woman is left alone to deal with her pregnancy and must go searching for answers about herself and the mother who was not around to help her, and guide her through a difficult period of her young life. In search of those answers, and with only a few letters her mother wrote to her, only to be opened at key moments, she goes to her mother's best friend, Sofia, and a rabbi from her country, both now living in Israel. Meeting Sofia's son, Eitan, a childhood friend, serving in the Israeli army, helps Jenny in her quest for finding closure, as well as looking forward to a an uncertain future, where even her own father cannot guide her to see clearly. "Letters for Jenny" was directed by Diego Musiak. The screenplay is by Andrea Baub. The production was a collaboration between Argentina, Israel and Spain. It is a sad story with a positive message as Jenny, who has led a somewhat sheltered life, must act on her own to solve the problem that has intrigued her forever. She finds the solution reading the four letters her mother wrote to her before dying. Acting by herself she discovers she is capable of getting over a romance that was not for her, but was too blind not to see it. The best thing in the film is the performance by Gimena Accardi, an intelligent young actress whose work was mainly seen on television. Fabio Di Tomaso has some good moments as Eitan. Martin Seefeld appears as Sergio, and the wonderful Beatriz Spelzini, who made an impression in "The Cat Vanishes", plays Sofia.