As soon as you look at the cover artwork for Isabelle Doval‘s film, Un Chateau en Espagne (see picture at left), you will identify its central theme – friendship.
The protagonists of the film are Maxime (Jean Senejoux) and Esteban (Martin Jobert), two 11-year-old boys who have grown up together in Paris. Maxine is a French boy while Estaban is the son of Spanish immigrants. They are such good friends that they feel like brothers. When Esteban’s father decides to take his family back to Spain to pursue a professional opportunity, the boys are faced with a terrible reality – permanent separation.
Maxime is determined to do anything in his power to keep his friend nearby. Knowing that Esteban is passionate about acting, Maxime signs his friend up for a musical audition. The boys train in secret, hoping that if Esteban gets the lead role, his parents may reconsider their return to Spain.
Un Chateau en Espagne has a simple storyline and avoids overly dramatic scenes (except for its finale). Yet, one can’t help but identify with its young protagonists. We have all had and remember a best friend from our childhood days. Like our first love, that special friendship seems to stay a part of our consciousness forever. Touchingly, mixing in humor and joyful scenes, Isabelle Doval manages to recreate the feelings of having a best friend.
Both boys play their characters with absolute naturalness and most of their interactions feel like improvisation. The musical score, featuring contemporary vibes and naturally a Spanish guitar, feels a bit overemphasized at times — so much so that the movie almost seems like a TV production instead of a full-length feature film. This undermines the effect of some scenes, but overall, doesn’t result in a lousy viewing experience.
Un Chateau en Espagne isn’t a masterpiece, but its story is pleasant enough to keep you entertained — one of those feel-good movies that are perfect time fillers. The film will bring back some lovely memories from a viewer’s past as a bonus. Unlike most American productions that focus on true friendship, Un Chateau en Espagne avoids clichés as much as possible and ends with a realistic finale. Recommended!
Un chateau en Espagne Trailer:
PS: The film’s title, Un Chateau en Espagne, makes a reference to a typical French expression “des châteaux en Espagne bâtir” (build castles in Spain) that is used in any situation to refer to unrealistic plans or dreams.
I’ve wanted to see this film for a long time. Unfortunately, French is a distant second language for me. Does anyone know whether this film is available with English subtitles? And, if so, where I can buy it on DVD or Blu-Ray?
Both Maxime and Estaban are such cute boys. During the course of the film, does their friendship develop into something more passionate than just “brother-like?” I’d love to see them becoming real boyfriends. Or, at least, when Maxime meets the incredibly attractive Alexandre, do Maxime and Alexandre strike up a relationship?
The DVD of the film with subtitled is currently on sale at CVMC : http://www.cvmc.net/movie.jsp?movie_id=7051 . But no the friendship between the boys although passionate ( like every real friendship ) does not develop into a romantic one. You may seek North Sea Texas (2011) https://theskykid.com/north-sea-texas-2011/ as it has similar plotline to what you have described
I bought the DVD of this film shortly after it came out, and it’s been one of my favorites ever since. By the way, the guitar music is one of the things I like about it most! But I’ve always been especially fascinated with its subtexts. The French boy Maxime is obviously the one with the deeper emotional commitment to the friendship. The Spanish boy Esteban is becoming increasingly interested in the girl next door, whom Maxime finds annoying. I agree that the ending is perfect, but the coda is especially interesting. Maxime meets an incredibly attractive boy named Alexandre who is moving into Esteban’s flat, but at the very end of the film the girl sits next to Maxime and gets a small smile. It’s as though the director is giving both us and Maxime two choices for the rest of his life.