Over the course of a career spanning nearly three decades and around a dozen films, Catalan screenwriter and director Cesc Gay has gradually shifted from the more distinctive and exploratory tone of his early works—titles such as *Krámpack*, *En la ciudad*, and *Ficción*—toward projects perceived as more distinctly commercial, both in form and in theme. The turning point appears to have been the success of *Truman*—that warm, humanist tragicomedy starring Ricardo Darín and Javier Cámara—which firmly established Gay within what, broadly speaking, might be termed mainstream Spanish cinema.
Gay’s strengths have always lain in dialogue and performance. It is here that his sensibility manifests with the greatest precision: his mise-en-scène tends to revolve around the actors, functioning primarily as a vehicle for character interaction. *53 domingos* operates in a manner very similar to his previous stage-to-screen adaptations—with *Sentimental* serving as a recent and successful example—wherein the challenge lies in translating material originally written for the theater into a language that feels genuinely cinematic.
Director: Cesc Gay
Writer: Cesc Gay
Stars: Javier Cámara, Carmen Machi, Alexandra Jiménez
On this occasion, the film chronicles a series of missed connections and awkward situations involving three siblings in their fifties who attempt—and repeatedly fail—to gather in order to address a number of unresolved family matters.
Cámara plays Julián, an out-of-work actor whose only current job offer involves dressing up as a tomato for a gazpacho commercial. He has arranged a meeting with his two older siblings at his own apartment; it is his wife (Alexandra Jiménez)—who also serves as the film’s narrator—who introduces us to this trio and their long history of misunderstandings. Carmen Machi portrays Natalia, the middle sibling: a disciplined academic whose marriage has grown increasingly distant over time. Javier Gutiérrez plays Víctor, the eldest brother—a self-proclaimed "businessman" who, in practice, seems to function more as a chauffeur for his wealthy father-in-law.
Light in tone—at least until a belated attempt to imbue it with greater emotional weight—*53 domingos* unfolds as a chain of scheduling mishaps that reduce what should be a group conversation to a succession of one-on-one encounters: Julián with Natalia, or Julián with Víctor. Little by little, the film reveals its central conflict: the care of their elderly father—an octogenarian suffering from memory issues who has begun having accidents and getting into disputes with the neighbors. Natalia—despite being the most professionally successful of the three, and the one with the least free time—is the only one who steps up to take responsibility, while her brothers claim they cannot spare even an hour, whether to help out or simply to fix a flickering lightbulb that has been bothering him.
These imbalances reflect deeper personality differences. The film slowly brings to the surface the tensions simmering between them—tensions built upon microaggressions and subtly hurtful remarks delivered in a passive-aggressive tone. Víctor has written a novel—also titled *53 domingos*—and the question of whether or not they should tell him what they *really* think of it becomes a central metaphor: no one is willing to speak frankly for fear of further fracturing a family bond that is already fragile—almost glacial.
Gay frames all of this within a light, almost ethereal register, relying on familiar theatrical devices: misunderstandings, recurring mix-ups, and even a running gag involving a tin of anchovies that travels from plate to fridge and back again. The focus—somewhat generically—falls on the emotional myopia of these self-centered adults—particularly the men—who struggle to see beyond their own immediate concerns. The three leads bring their considerable craft to the material (Jiménez mostly observes with a kind of gentle, resigned warmth, occasionally addressing the camera), but the script offers limited scope for nuance or for delving beneath the surface.
Modest, brisk (running a mere 75 minutes), and moderately pleasant—though leaving no lasting impression—*53 domingos* occasionally calls to mind *Parque Lezama*, in which Juan José Campanella similarly adapted his own stage play for the screen. Here, Gay plays it safe—and does so deliberately—delivering what Hollywood used to call a "shelter project": a controlled, low-risk production sandwiched between more ambitious endeavors.
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