Son Of The Bride

Argentine director Juan José Campanella's Oscar-nominated film is a low-key comedy drama, enhanced by compelling performances from a gifted cast. Middle-aged Rafael Belvedere (Ricardo Darín) yearns for the carefree days of his boyhood, playing Zorro and watching old TV shows with his best friend, when any grief could be dispelled by a batch of his mother's fresh-baked cookies. At age 42, Rafael is busy running the restaurant he inherited from his parents, successful but dissatisfied with his life. He can't come to terms with the crippling Alzheimer's from which his once-vibrant mother (Norma Aleandro) suffers, and he feels overwhelmed when his aging father (Héctor Alterio) asks him to help arrange a second marriage to his wife of 44 years to give her the kind of wedding she always wanted. After suffering a heart attack, Rafael decides it's high time for a change. He will sell the restaurant and retire to Mexico. This means abandoning not only his career, but his parents, his young daughter (Gimena Nóbile), and his girlfriend (Natalia Verbeke). However, with the advice and counsel of his childhood friend, Juan Carlos (Eduardo Blanco), Rafael begins to realize that severing the ties that bind him to his loved ones might be harder than expected.