''B-Happy'' is a 2003 Chilean-Spanish-Venezuelan

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

film directed by

Gonzalo Justiniano Gonzalo Justiniano (born 1955) is a Chilean filmmaker. Select filmography * '' Guerreros pacifistas'' (1984) * '' La Victoria'' (1984) * '' Hijos de la guerra fría'' (1986) * '' Sussi'' (1988) * '' Caluga o menta'' (1990) * '' Amnesia'' (1994) ...

and written by Justiniano, Sergio Gómez, Daniela Lillo and Fernando Aragón. It stars

Manuela Martelli Manuela Abril Martelli Salamovich (born April 16, 1983 in Santiago) is a Chilean film and television actress and director best known for her roles in the films ''B-Happy'' and ''Machuca''. She starred with the famous Dutch actor Rutger Hauer in t ...

accompanied by

Eduardo Barril Eduardo Andrés Barril Villalobos (born July 7, 1941 in Puerto Montt) is a Chilean actor and theatre director. Biography Born in Puerto Montt, he was the fourth of the seven children of Luis Barril Marquardt and Juana Villalobos Koghel. He gr ...

, Lorene Prieto, Felipe Ríos and Ricardo Fernández.

Synopsis

Kathy lives with her brother Danilo in a small coastal town in Chile. Her life is marked by the absence of her father, who is serving a sentence for multiple robberies, and by the permanent difficulties she must face. At the

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the t ...

, Kathy meets Chemo, a kind and sensitive boy. Together, they begin an intense relationship of mutual discovery. Meanwhile, Kathy falls into depression due to the increasing loneliness that surrounds her. It will be a painful process, but her strength of spirit and optimism will carry her through.

Cast

The actors participating in this film are: *

as Katty *

as Radomir * Lorene Prieto as Mercedes * Juan Pablo Sáez as Francisco / Nina * Gloria Laso as Gladis * Ricardo Fernández as Chemo * Juan Falcón as Nélson * Felipe Ríos as Danilo *

Gabriela Hernández María Gabriela Hernández Gómez (born January 15, 1939), also known as Gaby Hernández, is a Chilean theater, film and television actress with a long active career. Early life and education Her father was from Castilla, Spain, and her mothe ...

as Peta * José Martin as Oscar * Sergio Hernández as Franco * Oscar Hernández as Albino * Pedro Vicuña as Tulio * Carmen Gloria Bresky as Flea * Consuelo Edwards as Maira * Sergio Buschmann as Police Officer

Release

''B-Happy'' had its world premiere on September 5, 2003, at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

, then it was screened on October 18, 2003, as the opening film of the

Valdivia International Film Festival The Valdivia International Film Festival (Spanish: Festival Internacional de Cine de Valdivia (FICV o FICVALDIVIA)) is an international film exhibition and competition, held annually in the city of Valdivia, Los Rios region, Chile. The festival ...

. It was commercially released on January 8, 2004, in Chilean theaters, then screened on February 20, 2004, at the

Mexico City International Film Festival Mexico City International Film Festival, or FICC (''Festival Internacional de Cine en la Ciudad de México'') for its initials in Spanish, was an annual film festival that began in February 2011. It quickly become one of the most important film fes ...

Reception

Critical reception

On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, 60% of 5 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.4/10.

Accolades

References

External links

* 2003 films 2003 drama films Chilean drama films Spanish drama films Venezuelan drama films 2000s Spanish-language films Films set in Chile Films shot in Chile Films about families Films about depression Films about death 2000s Chilean films 2000s Spanish films {{Drama-film-stub