SYNOPSIS: 13-year-old Pablo is a quiet, lonely boy with a troubled past.  His only friend is Julia, a shameless 15-year-old girl who is more than willing to help Pablo with his transition from childhood to adolescence, and give him some advice on sex, love and life in general.  On a quiet country road just outside of the village, Pablo meets Paco, an oddly calm, well dressed stranger whose car just broke down.  Nevertheless, he seems more interested in the boy than fixing his problem.  At first Pablo maintains a cautious distance from the stranger, vaguely heeding his fellow villagers' advice to keep his distance.  However, the boy's subconscious quest to find understanding of his dark past and guilt makes him lose all of his protective layers.  He sees a new friend in Paco; someone he can open up to and feel valued by almost like a replacement father.  As Pablo's affection grows for the man, he is unknowingly and blindly being lead toward a tragedy that will scar him for life.

EDITORIAL REVIEW:  I think I can honestly say that En Tu Ausencia will be our best selling Feature film in 2009.  Not just because it's being released so close to 2009 and there's an entire year to gain in popularity, and not just because of it's controversial man/boy/boylove subject matter and content, but because this is a very genuine movie.  Hailed by critics for it's beautiful cinematography, amazing soundtrack, and an ending that makes you think (or perhaps want to watch again just to be sure), En Tu Ausencia is the absolute best Spanish film I've ever seen, and probably one of the best to ever come out of that country.  Mark my words, this movie will gain a vast following very quickly.  If you haven't heard of it until now, just wait a few months.  It's also a movie that appeals to a wide range of tastes - so you don't have to hide it when company comes over ;-)

The movie features a stellar performance by 13-year-old Spaniard Gonzalo Sánchez Salas (who apparently performed some of the musical soundtrack as well) as Pablo, the fatherless boy just yearning for attention - not just from a father figure, but anyone.  Enter Julia, (an unbelievable performance by 16-year-old Ana Tutor), who not only has an obvious crush on young Pablo, but is also his best friend.  It appears as if she has competition for Pablo's heart when he meets Paco (Fransico Alfonsin), a tall handsome stranger who comes to town seeking help with a broken car.  Going against what the townspeople are advising, Pablo forms a close bond with Paco, starting many rumors and much gossip.  But Paco has much more sinister "plans" for Pablo, and an agenda that everyone knew all along.  Everyone except for Pablo. 

If you don't have a tear in your eye after watching this one - then you're cold and heartless!  The soundtrack is wonderful, and truly a pity that you can't buy it anywhere.  The cinematography is nothing short of brilliant and the HD mastering of the footage is worth it (although this is NOT a Blu-Ray release - it should be - you can still see the quality is quite nice).

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* This DVD will play WORLDWIDE.  This is not a DVD-R.

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STARRING: Fransico Alfonsin, Gonzalo Sánchez Salas, Ana Tutor.
AVAILABILITY: In stock! Ships within one business day.
LENGTH: 99 minutes.
LANGUAGE: Spanish, with OPTIONAL ENGLISH SUBTITLES.
SPECIAL FEATURES: 1.85:1 (16:9 Widescreen); Stereo; 1 disc; Commentary with Director Iván Noel and actor Fransico Alfonsin; Making of featurette; Chapter selection; Uncut.
VIEWER DISCRETION: Brief to moderate nudity, sexual scenes, sexual innuendo, violence, coarse language.
PICTURE QUALITY: Excellent picture quality. (what's this mean?)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Spain (2007).
ALSO KNOWN AS: In Your Absence (festival / English title).
DATE ADDED TO OUR LIBRARY:  December 5, 2008 (pre sale) / December 23, 2008 (official release day).
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