Km. 0 (2000)

How disappointing to read IMDb reviews complaining that this marvelous movie is "low budget" and that the acting is "low brow" and that it contains actual metaphors. Poor children in film school. One day you will mature and realize how ridiculous such criticisms regarding this movie and movies like it are. Guess these people prefer the high-tech, special effects action-film extravaganzas with currently popular actors who earn $20 million per picture but can't act. KM-0 is beautiful, so well-acted, and truthful. Maybe some reviewers brought up to fear sexuality because of their dingbat religion can't handle the realism of the gay relationships that are so poignant, and meaningfully portrayed. (I'm hyper- heterosexual, female, and 70, but truth has no gender).MY only criticism is the one touch of the supernatural, in which I do not believe, but it was cute, organic and not that big a deal for me.I love this movie, its makers and all who appear in it. What a complete and pleasant surprise. A most enjoyable experience. I just wish I had heard of it before so I could have seen it earlier.

Madrid's Puerta del Sol, is considered the central point in the city. It's a busy place in the old section of town. The plaza is also a meeting point for people, as it's the case in the film. We are presented about a dozen people that are more interconnected than we imagined, as each life touches another."Km. 0" is an entertaining film that shows some characters that are in search of discovering themselves as some of they embark in several sexual encounters. Some will pay off, others not too well. All the characters are affected by the heat wave during that summer day. Most of them will discover something about themselves and will make resolutions for changes in their lives.The film credits two directors, Yolanda Garcia Serrano and Juan Luis Iborra, who have collaborated before and are also the screen writers. They work a lot on Spanish television. The ensemble cast do a wonderful job under the directors commands.This is a light fun film with fast pacing that will entertain the viewer. The only odd note is the ending, which is seen from the would be director's eyes, as though everything has been a movie in the making in his imagination.

This film is a delight and somewhat of a surprise for its frank treatment of all kinds of sexual relationships. Each character has his or her unique adventure seeking companionship,love, or excitement during one steamy afternoon and evening in Madrid, the unifying element being the meetings at the kilometer zero marker in one of the city's plazas, from which distances to other locations in Spain are measured. There are various mishaps ranging from mistaken identities to a minor auto accident. Everything has a delightfully light touch, and this viewer empathized easily with all the characters in their amorous adventures, ranging from the neglected middle-aged wife who hires a gigolo to the young backpacker who wants to help a prostitute gain more self-confidence. The use of a wallet photograph to establish a crucial identity reminds one of Restoration comedies in which a portrait in a locket is so important to the plot. In so many ways Km.0 is very traditional and in other ways, as in its frank depiction of a variety of sexual relationships, very modern. My one criticism of the film is the relegation of Tristan Ulloa to a role in which the talents he displayed in Sex and Lucia are not utilized.

With the fall of all things Franco in Spain during the last two decades nothing has flourished and blossomed more beautifully than Spanish cinema. From "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" in the late 1980's to more recent cinematic gems "All About My Mother", "Talk to Her" and "The Devil's Backbone" among many, Spanish writers, directors, producers and actors have been free to create film that is unique, shocking, thought-provoking, profound, many times achingly human and often hilarious and heartfelt. That is the case with the delicious comedy/drama "Kilometer 0", or "Km. 0". At first blush I know I have seen some of these superb actors and actresses in other films from Spain, but I am not sufficiently familiar with their names as yet. ** *******SPOILERS AHEAD*********This film, takes place on a hot day in Madrid's summer over a time span of approximately 8 hours or so from 4 pm to midnight on the same day. The complex story line relies on the age old "cheat" of mass mistaken identity to propel this film and it's wildly different characters forward. You are introduced to 14 persons who , for one reason or another all are to rendezvous at a stone marker in the sidewalk of a Madrid central square called Km 0. Of course, everyone meets people who they think are there to meet them, but they are all meeting the wrong people. A frustrated wealthy older woman whose boring husband pays her no attention orders a male hustler to make her feel like a woman again, two gay men meet on a chat-line and agree to get it on for a tryst, an out of town boy arrives and thinks he will meet his sister's conservative friend. You get the picture. Throw in a whore going to Km 0 to meet a john, a panic stricken straight guy who needs to get laid, an actress who can't get a part and a director of musicals looking for some new voices and you have one giant, mixed up group of folks. The acting is excellent , the comedy and pathos are real, the sex is hot and every one ends up at the same little bar drinking champagne. This is such an entertaining little movie that makes you feel so good. One to keep!