The Noble Family
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', also called ''The Noble Family'' and ''We Are the Nobles'', is a 2013 Mexican
dark comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
film directed by
Gary Alazraki Gary "Gaz" Alazraki is the writer and director of Mexico's record breaking comedy '' Nosotros los Nobles'' (2013) and the co-creator, executive producer and director of ''Club de Cuervos'' (2015), Netflix's first original series in Spanish. He head ...
, starring
Gonzalo Vega Gonzalo Agustín Vega González (November 29, 1946 – October 10, 2016) was a Mexican film, theatre and television actor. Personal life He was also father of the actresses Zuria Vega, Marimar Vega Marimar Vega (born María del Mar Vega S ...
,
Luis Gerardo Méndez Luis Gerardo Hernández Méndez (born 12 March 1982) is a Mexican actor and producer born in Aguascalientes City. Having previously mostly appeared in smaller films and on television, Méndez shot to fame with his starring role in the 2013 comed ...
,
Karla Souza Karla Susana Olivares Souza (born December 11, 1985) is a Mexican actress known for her roles as Laurel Castillo on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC legal drama series ''How to Get Away with Murder'' and Marina Hayworth on the ABC sitcom ' ...
and
Juan Pablo Gil Juan Pablo Gil Almada (born November 16, 1989, in Culiacán, Sinaloa, México), is a Mexican actor who gained popularity for his role as "Charlie Noble" in the Warner Bros film, ''Nosotros los Nobles''. Biography Juan Pablo Gil Almada was b ...
, with Ianis Guerrero, Carlos Gascón and Mario Haddad in supporting roles.


Plot

Located in modern
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
, ''The Noble Family'' tells the story of a wealthy Mexican businessman, Germán Noble, and his three grown children, Javier, Bárbara, and Carlos. Being always busy at his job, Germán doesn't realize that his kids are doing nothing with their lives, while carelessly spending his money. He never touches the subject, for he attributes their attitude to the depression his children feel in the wake of their mother's death. Though Javier works in his father's construction company (in theory), he spends most of his time partying with friends. When not socializing, he dreams up unrealistic and often impossible projects that are often mocked by his father's business partner, Anwar Karim. Hoping to motivate Javier, Germán tells him he plans to leave the company to him in the future, and so he charges Javier with bigger responsibilities. Javier instead flies to Miami with his friends, leaving a subordinate to take his place at a very important business function. Bárbara is a
socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditio ...
about to get engaged to Peter, a man 20 years older than her, who's left several failed businesses in bankruptcy. He's hoping that Bárbara's
trust fund A trust is a legal relationship in which the holder of a right gives it to another person or entity who must keep and use it solely for another's benefit. In the Anglo-American common law, the party who entrusts the right is known as the "settl ...
will help him pay off his enormous tax debt. Germán is against said engagement, but Bárbara pays no attention to him and starts planning the wedding Carlos, Germán's youngest child, is a hipster that has been expelled from college for being caught by the dean having sex with Lucía, one of his teachers. Germán's frustration finally leads him to a heart attack. While in the hospital, he decides to give his children a lesson and a taste of the real world. He tells them that union troubles and an
embezzling Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...
partner have led the government to freeze his assets and that, as
shareholders A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal owner ...
of the company, the whole family could end up in prison. Germán convinces them to hide and cut off all contact with friends and relatives (to protect his charade), and move into a dilapidated house his father owned in a modest area of Mexico City. The children will also have to support themselves, which means getting jobs for the first time in their lives. A friend's father helps Carlos get a job as a bank teller, while Lucho, nephew of the family's old maid, helps Bárbara find work as a waitress and Javier as a bus driver. With a house falling down around them and bills to pay, the three immediately find themselves struggling to make ends meet. Their new situation causes them to see things in a new light. Bárbara discovers that Lucho, who she used to think of as poor and unworthy of her time, is actually a nice guy. Javier sees his old party friends as shallow hangers-on. Carlos starts to create some discipline in his life. Germán also learns a lot from his children during this time, and is dismayed to learn that Bárbara has
bulimia Bulimia nervosa, also known as simply bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging or fasting, and excessive concern with body shape and weight. The aim of this activity is to expel the body of calories eate ...
, Javier is
dyslexic Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...
and that he himself often spent too much time at work while they were growing up. Meanwhile, Peter, Bárbara's boyfriend, finds out the family's hideout and the truth about Germán's scheme. Once he finds out it's all just a plot to teach the kids a lesson, he tries to blackmail Germán into giving him power over Bárbara's trust fund. Germán refuses, but in the process he's forced to admit the truth to his children. The revelation generates a feeling of anger and distrust in them. However Bárbara realises that Peter's only intention was to obtain her money, and breaks with him. Disappointed, the three siblings decide to distance themselves from their father, keep their jobs and fully repair the old house. Germán's wish to see his children mature and live independently is finally accomplished, even though they break all contact with him. Carlos leaves the bank and gets a real job, Javier opens a business of his own, and Bárbara and Lucho get engaged. By the end of the film we see Gérman knocking on the now-restored front door of the old house. His children open it, and he asks for forgiveness. They reconcile, acknowledging that everything was for a greater good. After the credits, Peter is inside a prison cell, for his tax debts, as two fellow inmates approach to molest him.


Cast


Filming

The movie was filmed on location in
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
.


Influences

The film's plot was taken from the 1949 Mexican film ''
The Great Madcap ''El Gran Calavera'' ( ''The Great Madcap'') is a 1949 Mexican comedy film directed by Luis Buñuel. The plot concerns a family patriarch who fakes losing all his wealth to end his family's self-indulgent ways. Plot Everyone takes advantage of ...
'' directed by
Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and m ...
, starring
Fernando Soler Fernando Soler (born Fernando Díaz Pavia; 24 May 1896 – 25 October 1979) was a Mexican actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He was considered one of the most important figures of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. In his career spanning ...
and Rosario Granados.


Home media

The film was released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in July 2013. As well as continue to be a hit


Box office

The movie debuted in fourth position on March 22 taking more than US$964,000. But the good reception of the movie and public recommendations, led to the film taking first place in its fourth weekend, taking US$1.9 million, by that point, the film had taken almost US$15 million making it the most successful Mexican film of all time. After 15 weeks in the Mexican Box Office top 10, the film reached $26 million and currently is the sixth highest-grossing film in the Mexican Box Office in 2013.


Remakes

The film has been remade in Italy as ''
Belli di papà ''Belli di papà'' () is a 2015 Italian comedy film co-written and directed by Guido Chiesa and starring Diego Abatantuono. It is a loose remake of the Mexican comedy film ''The Noble Family''. Plot The wealthy businessman Vincenzo, originally ...
'' in 2015, in Colombia as '' Malcriados'' in 2016, and in France as '' Pourris gâtés'' in 2021. An English-language remake is being developed at
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
, with Chris Columbus,
Michael Barnathan Michael Barnathan is an American film producer who has produced and executive-produced films such as ''Used People'', ''The Help'', the first three ''Harry Potter'' films, ''Rent'', ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' and ''Night at the Museum''. He was al ...
, and Alazraki producing.


References


External links

* {{IMDb title, 2222394 2013 films 2013 black comedy films Mexican black comedy films 2010s Spanish-language films 2013 comedy films 2010s Mexican films