Flowers

In an age when language is becoming homogenized and the most dominant are winning, it is unusual to see almost half of the Basque region of Spain hold to its native tongue. It may be even more unusual to see an all Basque language film distributed worldwide.

Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and two prestigious Goya Awards, "Flowers" brings a rarely seen piece of Latino culture to the United States.

Cut flowers, which we put in vases of water at the center of our tables and we place on headstones in remembrance of our loved ones, are often used as a metaphor for the ephemeral beauty and fragility of life. And this film is as delicate, intricate and compelling as this flora that serves as a visual synecdoche for the mysteriousness of mortality.

Ane's (Nagore Aranburu) world is thrown off balance when she enters an early menopause. Her marriage has been unfulfilling and her job as a construction manager often leaves her trapped in a bubble of solitude. But to her surprise an unknown admirer begins to send her flowers every Thursday. Though her husband makes a scene at the flower shop (because buyers are not required to show ID before they purchase a bouquet), Ane thrills-in these mysterious gifts.

Meanwhile, a tollbooth attendant and her overbearing mother-in-law deal with a tragic car accident in their own separate ways. The sentimental older woman, Tere (Itziar Aizpuru), uses flowers to hold on to memories, while her relative, Lourdes (Itziar Itu�o), avoids bound-up blossoms in an attempt to forget.

When an anonymous tribute places flowers on the roadside where the accident took place, each woman attempts to solve the mystery in her own separate way.

This fascinating film comes from the writing and directing team of Jon Gara�o and Jose Mari Goenaga, the people who brought us "For 80 Days," a movie about a friendship between two women that turns into desire after 50 years. Once again they team up with the Director of Photography Javier Agirre (as Javi Agirre Erauso,) whose images whisper most of the time in long still shots, then suddenly burst into color and movement.

The bonus features on this DVD are both substantive and interesting - a half-hour making-of feature, a 15-minute Q&A from the Los Angeles Premiere and a brief press conference from the reputable San Sebastian Film Festival.

"Flowers"
DVD
$29.95
www.MusicBoxFilms.com