El Nido Vacio (Empty Nest) (Daniel Burman, 2008): Argentina

Reviewed by Nicole Bacher. Viewed at the 2009 Santa Barbara Film Festival.

Empty Nest is supposedly a comedy about what happens when all your children grow up and leave the house. Directed by Daniel Burman (Motorcycle Diaries), the film introduces Leonardo and Martha. They’re your average married couple that have problems and occasionally fight. Leonardo (Oscar Martinez) is a successful screenwriter and his hyperactive wife, Martha, (Celia Roth) is a stay at home mother who has put her studies on hold to support her husband’s career. When their last child Julia (Ines Efron) moves to Israel to get married, their lives take a strange turn for the worse that leaves them questioning life.

Throughout the entire film, Leonardo questions his friends and his relationship with his wife. Their daughter Julia marries an Israeli writer, and although he wants to be happy for his little girl, he is upset that all his children are grown up and don’t have time for him anymore. Julia’s husband admires Leonardo’s work so much, to the point where he asks him to read some of his work. Hesitantly, Leonardo puts off not only his work but also does not want to read his son in law’s new book. Martha has also changed. She decides it’s her turn to enjoy life now that the kids are out of the house as she heads back to school and seems to go on with her daily routine. This bothers Leonardo in a way he can’t understand.

I thought this film was pretty slow. I was waiting for something to kick-start, but nothing ever did. The script was clever and there were some cute one-liners, but overall the film lacked charisma and passion.