''Family Law'' ( es, Derecho de familia) is a 2006 internationally co-produced

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film, written and directed by

Daniel Burman Daniel Burman (born 29 August 1973, in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine film director, screenplay writer, and producer. According to film critic Joel Poblete, who writes for ''Mabuse'', a cinema magazine, Daniel Burman is one of the members of the ...

. The picture was produced by

Diego Dubcovsky Diego Dubcovsky (born Buenos Aires) is an Argentine film producer. He works in the cinema of Argentina. In 1995, he launched his own production company together with Daniel Burman, BD Cine (Burman and Dubcovsky Cine). En 2015 he created the ...

, José María Morales, and Marc Sillam, and co-produced by Amedeo Pagani. ''Family Law'' was Argentina's official submission for the 2004 Academy Award for

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

Plot

The film tells the story of Ariel Perelman (

Daniel Hendler Daniel Hendler (born 3 January 1976) is a Uruguayan film, television, and theatre actor who works mainly in the cinema of Argentina, where he lives. He is known for his starring roles in films such as ''Bottom of the Sea'', ''Family Law'', ''The ...

). While he has an easygoing lifestyle, he's trying to find his way in life in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. He works at a university as a law professor. The film begins with a long narration of the way things stand in his life. He describes his father, Bernardo Perelman (

Arturo Goetz Arturo L. Goetz (24 June 1944 – 28 July 2014) was an Argentine film actor. He worked in the cinema of Argentina. He studied for a Doctor of Philosophy degree in economics at Jesus College, Oxford, from 1971 to 1974, and published his findings ...

), in detail. Perelman, as he's known, is a popular public defender who meets his clients where they work or in restaurants so he can determine what they are "all about." Most of his clients are generally poor. He's very close to his secretary ( Adriana Aizenberg) since his wife died fifteen years ago. Work fills Perelman's days, and Ariel is astonished by his energy. After lusting after Sandra (

Julieta Díaz Julieta Solange Díaz Núñez (born September 9, 1977) is an Argentine model and actress.Julieta Díaz
at the

Pilates Pilates (; ) is a type of mind-body exercise developed in the early 20th century by German physical trainer Joseph Pilates, after whom it was named. Pilates called his method "Contrology". It is practiced worldwide, especially in countries suc ...

class she teaches. Not much happens until Sandra is sued for teaching Pilates without the approval of the company who hold the rights to teach Pilates in Argentina. Ariel (known as Perelman to Sandra) reaches out to his father for help and wins the law suit. In the process, Sandra falls in love with the younger Perelman and they marry. She begins to decorate their home for a few years and they have a child they name Gastón (Eloy Burman), who is a quite charming young boy. Ariel's university building is shut down for a month because it had collapsed, and he is given some time off. However, he doesn't share this news with his wife. During this time his father starts spending some quality time with Ariel, which makes him think something must be wrong. Ariel is asked by the Swiss kindergarten school Gastón attends to participate in a play and swim classes with the other fathers. Ariel first rebels but gives in. The film ends with his father's death and burial and a long introspective look at Ariel Perelman's life in his 30s.

Cast

as Ariel Perelman *

as Bernardo Perelman * Eloy Burman as Gastón Perelman *

Julieta Díaz Julieta Solange Díaz Núñez (born September 9, 1977) is an Argentine model and actress.Julieta Díaz
at the

Adriana Aizemberg as Norita *

Jean Pierre Reguerraz Jean-Pierre Reguerraz (1939 – November 2, 2007) was an Argentine stage and film actor noted for his deep bass voice. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1939 of French parents, he studied acting in Europe before returning to Argentina in 1 ...

as uncle Eduardo Perelman * Dmitry Rodnoy as Germán * Luis Albornoz as Echechuny * Darío Lagos as uncle Mamuñe * Damián Dreizik as Damidjian * Gerardo del Águila as Peruano (Peruvian)

Background

''Derecho de familia'' is part of a loose trilogy of films. The other two are: '' Esperando al mesías'' (2000) and ''

El abrazo partido ''Lost Embrace'' is a 2004 Argentine, French, Italian, and Spanish comedy drama film, directed by Daniel Burman and written by Burman and Marcelo Birmajer. The picture features Daniel Hendler, Adriana Aizemberg, Jorge D'Elía, among others. T ...

'' (2004). All were written and directed by Burman and star

. They are largely autobiographical, dealing with the life of a young Jew in contemporary

. Like the characters in the film, Burman's own father was a lawyer and he also went to law school. Eloy Burman who plays Gastón Perelman is the young son of director Daniel Burman.

Distribution

The film was first presented at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

on February 10, 2006. It was first screened in

on March 16, 2006 at the

Mar del Plata Film Festival The Mar del Plata International Film Festival ( es, Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata) is an international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina. It is the only competitive feature fest ...

. It opened wide in Argentina on March 23, 2006. The film was shown at various film festivals, including: the Toulouse Latin America Film Festival, France; the

Moscow Film Festival The Moscow International Film Festival (russian: Моско́вский междунаро́дный кинофестива́ль, translit. ''Moskóvskiy myezhdunaródniy kinofyestivál''; abbreviated as MIFF) is the film festival first h ...

, Russia; the

Karlovy Vary Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival ( cs, Mezinárodní filmový festival Karlovy Vary) is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

; the

Edinburgh Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

; the

Helsinki International Film Festival The Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy ( fi, Rakkautta & Anarkiaa) is a non-competitive film festival held since 1988 in Helsinki, Finland, yearly in September. The festival promotes the artistry of filmmaking, the inventive, vi ...

, Finland; Films From The South Festival, Norway; the

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

, USA; the Warsaw Film Festival, Poland; and others. The film was released on DVD in Argentina on July 7, 2006 by Argentina Video Home.

Reception

Critical response

''Family Law'' garnered mostly positive reviews from film critics. On review aggregate 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 ...

, the film holds an overall 73% "Certified Fresh" approval rating based on 41 reviews, with a rating average of 6.7 out of 10. The site's consensus is: "What ''Family Law'' lacks in overt drama and conflict, it more than makes us with warm performances and smart, sharp dialogue." At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 0–100 reviews from film critics, the film has a rating score of 66 based on 18 reviews, classified as a generally favorably reviewed film. Jonathon Holland, film critic of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' magazine, liked the film's story and wrote, "A deft, witty and emotionally rewarding study of a thirtysomething man in his roles as father and son, Daniel Burman's intensely personal "Family Law" completes his fatherhood trilogy. The second installment, "Lost Embrace", won the Silver Bear at Berlin in 2004. Again featuring an outstanding Daniel Hendler (best actor in 2004) and a script that fuses sharp observation with the intimacy of a lightly rewritten autobiography, pic effortlessly takes the viewer through a range of thoughts and moods. Fans of "Embrace" might lament the relative absence of social context this time, but pic's multiple merits should consolidate helmer's icburgeoning offshore reputation." The senior film writer at the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'', Ruthe Stein, liked the comedy drama's screenplay, the direction and acting, writing, "''Family Law''—a subtly perceptive charmer that was Argentina's entry for a best foreign film Oscar and might have been nominated in a less competitive year—is in no particular hurry to get where it's going...Although Hendler and Goetz don't really look alike, they manage to convey a family resemblance in their mannerisms, particularly the erect way they carry themselves, as if they're somebody...Aizemberg works wonders. You get the sense from her radiance that the secretary has always had a thing for her boss. His wife's death allowed her to finally express it physically, and she's overjoyed by their intimacy...Ultimately this is a movie about a son's discovery of the man he knows mostly as a father. It's a serious subject handled with humor—not the ha-ha kind, but the hard laughter that comes from recognizing parts of yourself in the Perelmans." Critics Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, of the website ''Spirituality and Practice'' like the film and wrote, "Family Law explores in a realistic and touching way the emotional barriers that often block intimate conversation between fathers and sons...It's easy today to send e-mails and faxes anywhere in the world, yet we rarely speak to those who live in our neighborhood. We have cellular telephones and pagers, yet we spend very little time in deep conversation with those in our immediate family. This strange phenomenon is depicted very poignantly in this snappy and satisfying film from Argentina written and directed by Daniel Burman. We were very impressed with his ''Lost Embrace'' about a father and son reunion after years apart. This one also deals with a father and son relationship."Brussat, Frederic and Mary Ann
''Spirituality and Practice'', film review, December 2006. Last accessed: January 14, 2008.

Awards

Wins *

: Audience Award; Best Ibero-American Film; SIGNIS Award; all for Daniel Burman; 2006. * Clarín Entertainment Awards: Clarín Award Best Film Screenplay, Daniel Burman; Best Supporting Film Actress, Adriana Aizemberg; 2006. *

Argentine Film Critics Association Awards The Argentine Film Critics Association ( es, Asociación de Cronistas Cinematográficos de la Argentina) is an organization of Argentine-based journalists and correspondents. The association presents the ''Silver Condor Awards'' (''Premios Cóndor ...

: Silver Condor, Best Director, Daniel Burman; Best Supporting Actor, Arturo Goetz; 2007. Nominations * Mar del Plata Film Festival: Best Film, Daniel Burman; 2006. * Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Silver Condor, Best Actor, Daniel Hendler; Best Actress, Julieta Díaz; Best Film; 2007.

References

External links

* Official Web-site *
''Derecho de familia''
at the

cinenacional.com Cinenacional.com is a web portal and World Wide Web, web-based database about Cinema of Argentina, Argentine cinema. It is the most comprehensive site for information about the Argentine film industry, with a vast array of information on films, tel ...

''Derecho de familia''
film review at ''

La Nación ''La Nación'' () is an Argentine daily newspaper. As the country's leading conservative newspaper, ''La Nación''s main competitor is the more liberal '' Clarín''. It is regarded as a newspaper of record for Argentina. Its motto is: "''La Nac ...

'' by Diego Battle
''Derecho de familia''
trailer at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

{{Argentine submission for Academy Awards 2006 films 2006 comedy-drama films 2006 independent films Argentine independent films Argentine comedy-drama films 2000s Spanish-language films French independent films French comedy-drama films Italian independent films Italian comedy-drama films Spanish independent films Spanish comedy-drama films Films directed by Daniel Burman Films about lawyers 2000s Argentine films 2000s French films 2000s Spanish films 2000s Italian films