PAPA O MAMA/ YOU KEEP THE KIDS

Spain, 2021, 90 minutes, Colour.

Paco Leon, Miren Ibarguren, Sofia Oria, Ivan Renédo, Laura Quiros.

Directed by Dani de la Orden.

A Spanish comedy about marriage and divorce – and the children. It is actually based on a French film made a few her years earlier, Papa ou Maman, but it has universal themes and could be remade in most cultures.

The film is billed as a comedy and there are very many funny sequences – but, the tone is particularly wry, the treatment of marriage, the cooling of relationship in a marriage, the increasing number of children, careers and promotions, spouses wanting to go their own way, divorce, litigation – and the custody of the children.

Quite a deal of time is spent in setting up the characters of Victor and Flora, the parents, as well as their three quite distinctive children. The main part of the action is the separation, the consequences of life in the family, discussions with the lawyer and the continued challenge to find the right time to tell the children. Complication is that Victor is a successful architect has prospects for furthering his career by spending some months in Russia. Flora is a doctor, has always had an ambition to do charity work in Africa. Laura is ready to concede that Victor should go to Russia and she look after the children until she finds him in a relationship with his young assistant.

The latter part of the film is comedy in creating all kinds of situations where each parent and be offputting so that the children will opt to go to the other partner, leaving each one to pursue their careers.

And the implication is always that a successful marriage is the better route through life and parents united with their children is the most important.

1. The title, tone? The theme: marriage, love, children, years passing, willing of love, divorce, litigation, custody…?
2. Spanish comedy, a remake of a French film? Universal themes?
3. The setting, Spanish city, homes, hospitals, architecture offices, restaurants, parties, legal offices? The musical score?
4. The comic tone, irony, right comment on human behaviour? The reality of marriage, value of marriage, difficulties, and the children, separation, divorce, consequences?
5. The opening, the two couples, Victor and Flora, carrying on, the proposal, acceptance, marriage, the years passing, pregnancy, the birth of the children, setting the characters?
6. Years later, the three children, the teenage girl and her issues, the precocious young girl and her idiosyncratic behaviour, the little boy and his ambitions to be a singer? Family life? School life? Girl and the animal in the microwave, later at school? The boy, singing at the competition? The teenage girl, boyfriends, school, her friends, kissing, the party and her embarrassment with her parents?
7. Victor, architecture, advancement, to Russia? Working with his partner? The attraction? His dealing with Flora, the meetings with the lawyer, the custody issues, at home, dealing with each of the children? Flora, doctor, at the hospital, friends, the eccentric patient?
8. The issue of Russia or Flora going to Africa? Flora making concessions, seeing Victor with his partner, changing her mind?
9. The issue of the children, custody, the bulk of the film showing the comic behaviour of Victor and Flora, to influence the children, to stay with the other partner, the comments, the outings, the dancing at the party, the bewilderment of the children?
10. Flora and the patients at the hospital, the attraction? Her bringing home He do, the Christmas tree, the farce, his mother’s ashes…?
11. Victor and Flora meeting, the attraction again, in the water, the boy and his singing, the embarrassment, the parents coming on stage, the invitation to everybody joining in, the success of the performance?
12. Love, yet parting, the prospects of the future and the encounter with the man who was prospering, had a divorce, state for his children? Victor packing, going back into the house to watch Home Alone?