Written and directed by Gabriel de Varona, co-written by Kevin Ondarza, with a taxidermy parrot and pistol in hand, Praxi, breaks into the home of a mute spiritual guru who trapped his lover’s soul inside the parrot years ago. Praxi must convince the guru’s estranged daughter to guide her father in freeing his lover’s soul in this darkly comedic tale of love and the afterlife. Starring: Ruben Rabasa, Serafin Falcon, René Lavan, Isabella Bobadilla and Mia Rose Chamaro.
The Old Man and the Parrot starts off on great footing, it’s quirky and grumpy and sets the tone for an eccentric adventure but that’s not entirely what we get. Boiling it down, Gabriel de Varona and Kevin Ondarza had a great idea and the best of intentions but couldn’t quite instil those into the finished product. The major issue being that the relationship between Praxi (Ruben Rabasa) and Yoelvis (René Lavan) never comes across as romantic, despite that being a huge part of the plot. It only ever starts to gain that air at the very end which is sadly too late.
Initially it has a good chaotic energy but that finds itself at odds with the slowly moving nature of the progression. It spends a lot of time in rather simple moments, which has a certain sweetness to add into the mix, but they take up too much of the runtime. The result being that it loses the odd and weird sides that it’s trying to build, instead becoming quite everyday. Similarly with Praxi and Yoelvis’ relationship, it leaves a lot of its theatricality and quirks until the very last minute, and they then don’t gel with the tone it has built up until that point.
Gabriel de Varona’s direction has a great almost mockumentary style to it, it creates a lot of that frantic energy. There’s a lot of little thoughtful details that go into the visual, which is great to see. However, it’s definitely the performances that are the strongest element of The Old Man and the Parrot, they hold such a charming old-fashioned wholesomeness. Ruben Rabasa brings a surprisingly generous, kind and enthusiastic presence, he’s not your typical curmudgeon elderly character. He’s got a unique personality and absolutely creates the heart of the film. Alongside René Lavan, the connection that they create is touching.
The Old Man and the Parrot undoubtedly gives Ruben Rabasa the space to spread his wings into leading man territory and he really shines in the spotlight. There’s a good foundation to the story but the way that it plays out feels ineffective. It wants to be a weird, whacky adventure but it only gets part way there, getting stuck in the quieter scenes and holding itself back. The romance never feels truly convincing, and for the most part it isn’t as delightfully odd as the opening would leave you to hope. The filmmakers definitely had the best of intentions, but the story unfortunately ended up on a wandering, slow path.
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