Gente de Bien Review

Selected as part of this year’s Spanish Film Festival and shown at Palace Electric Cinema’s, Gente de Bien, roughly translated as ‘Good People’ is a quiet, yet powerfully moving Colombian film that deals with love, poverty and what it means to belong.

Directed by Franco Lolli, the film follows 10 year old Eric whose mother sends him, and the family dog Lupe, to live with his father Gabriel who he has not seen for years, in the slums of Bogota. Both Eric and Gabriel must get used to the change in their lives, and the challenges that come with that sets the foundation for the film. Gabriel works as a carpenter for the wealthy Maria Isabel and he has no choice but to take Eric with him to work. It is there that Eric develops a close bond with Maria Isabel, who is kind hearted but no nonsense, and her two children. Maria Isabel takes Eric under her wing as she helps Gabriel out financially. However, the line between help and charity begins to blur and tensions rise between Marie, her wealthy friends and family, and Gabriel and Eric.

Gente de Bien has a simple storyline that relies on great writing and acting. The film is gritty and realistic which shows the stark contrast between the poverty and bleakness of Gabriel and Eric’s world, and the lavish privilege of Maria Isabel’s. The friendships that develop between the characters, despite their class divisions, are heartwarming and will resonate with audiences due to the challenges they go through.

The film feels like the audience is simply seeing a brief snapshot of the characters lives. There is a lot about the character’s backstories that is not explained, and the ending is not the conclusive fairytale we often hope for. However, the cast play their roles perfectly, and it is the real life struggles and friendships that make this film enjoyable to watch.