Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

GazerRise Fantastic!

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

aharmas This is a very impressive film. For all its quiet and introspective moments, the film offers a very comprehensive study of how people develop relationships through the years, mostly through the process of observation and communication. Sometimes, one might not listen enough, or might be avoiding the obvious, that which does not please us or satisfy us in a most immediate manner.After Nora dies, it is up to her relatives to "pick up the pieces" and organize the proper funeral arrangements. Her husband Jose is the person who starts the process, only to discover that there is much he doesn't know about who his ex-wife really was. Gradually, we are introduced to many of the important people in Nora's life, learning how each of them related to Nora while she was alive.At first, we get the impression, Nora's demise is a little illogical. When we first see her apartment, everything is properly located and organized, there a sense of compulsive behavior in the way everything seems too neat, and yet we discover her life was far from perfect. Soon, Jose must confront religious men to plan her funeral, and we sense plenty of tension, leading to some very uncomfortable moments that will make the arrangements difficult to carry out. In essence, it all seems to originate in the way Jose and Nora related to each other.We have flashbacks that help us understand their past, beautifully presented, with faithful attention to period detail, to give us a good sense of nostalgia and the passage of time. There is also plenty of attention given to the way different people express their views and show their actions when dealing with Nora's death. There are several sweet scenes that show the level of closeness that existed between Fabiana and Nora, and we can almost believe that this relationship might have provided much comfort to Nora in times of need.Soon, we also meet Ruben, the child who has much devotion for anyone he considers family. He has been in the middle of the conflicts and is much like his father, even though he resembles his mother. Watching him grieve is heartbreaking, and at times it is frustrating how hard it is for him to take a stand because of the love he has for both of his parents, his wife and children. He is the perfect embodiment of respect and devotion.There is a fascinating performance by the man who plays Jose. He is able to show love, faithfulness, pain, loss, and many other feelings as the film reaches its conclusion. His eyes are extremely expressive and allows us to feel much more involved because we learn and we feel as he gets closer and closer to the truth. It is a magnificent and quiet performance."Nora's Will" is an interesting title because it is a play in words since the whole film is a reflection of what Jose says: "she wanted it all to be her way, perfectly planned to the last detail", and yet, we learn her life was at best fractured from early in her marriage. It's a series of contradictions, just life happens to be. The title is Spanish is "Cinco Dias Sin Nora" (Five Days Without Nora), and it's a bit on the ironic side because those five days are the ones when her presence is felt the most. Everyone is closer to her than they've ever been, seeing her, calling her, expressing her feelings about her, and finally tending to her every need.Indeed, a beautiful movie.

jotix100 As the story begins, we watch a woman setting up the dining room table, as though for a celebration. She has been cooking up for a dinner, but we do not know what is the occasion. Something peculiar, we never see the woman's face, just her activities around the kitchen and dining area. When the man delivering packages of meat does not get any answer at the apartment's door, his alternative is to bring them to Jose's place, across the street. Jose Kurtz turns out to be the former husband of Nora, the woman we saw earlier.When Jose goes to Nora's place, he is shocked to find her dead. It is clear to him she committed suicide. Jose being Jewish must contact the rabbi in order to set the funeral arrangement. The rabbi objects to Nora being buried in sacred ground, upsetting Jose. Having to deal with the problem, he decides to go to a local funeral place where he contracts for the necessary details to have her buried in a regular cemetery. "Nora's Will" directed by Mariana Chenillo, is a dramatic Mexican comedy that explores the clash between traditional Jewish culture and that of the country in which the story is set. In flashbacks we get to know what happened between Jose and Nora and what caused their divorce. The fact that Jose has only moved across the street from his former wife, speaks volumes. While he is not openly grieving, memories of a happier time in his marriage comes rushing to his mind. Fernando Lujan playing Jose makes an impression. He is stoic facing the final preparations for a wife he stop living with a long time ago, but in reality he has not stopped loving her. An in a way, finding the binoculars used by Nora to spy on Jose, also indicates she has not completely forgotten of the man she fell in love.Ms. Chenillo's debut shows a new talent in the Mexican cinema.

Matthew Stechel Nora's Will has a good solid premise, a very good leading actor who does what he can with both the character and the screenplay, a pretty involving beginning and such a good grasp of the Jewish religion's burial rituals that it almost feels mean to say anything negative about it. Truthfully i didn't really find it funny so much as gently, wryly amusing, and even then not as much as it could've been. Also the pacing of the film is a wee bit on the slow side. It almost feels like a stage play in part.If you go in thinking this is going to be a straight up comedy...you'll be disappointed as its definitely more of a drama with some lightly humorous moments scattered throughout. Story is pretty basic--Man who's been separated from his wife for the last 15 years walks into her apt and finds her dead triggering many unhappy flashbacks of their time together, many unhappy family reunions, and many grimaces by the grieving man as his family is trying to honor his ex wife's wishes to be buried in a religious way. A lot of the humor stems from the man's willful and stubborn refusal to honor her requests in any way...and his attempts to belittle the rabbi and the religious ceremony that she wants to be a part of in death also come into play.Its a semi cute film but it not uproarious (in fact its quite downbeat and even rather depressing in spots)...but even worse is that it doesn't really go anywhere either. Eventually the man sort of comes around and accepts her death, and does what he can to help her wishes after refusing to honor her for the running time of the film. That's more or less it in terms of plot. Character development is unfortunately equally thin as we learn about the various horrible things his ex wife pulled on her husband when they were married...but they loved each other overall, and its sad that she's no longer there to bug him of course, etc.Film manages to stay on the watchable side thanks in no small part to the lead actor who manages to make his character's crabbiness somewhat appealing (and quite understandable once we've witnessed the flashbacks) Film has some solid supporting characters esp in the daffy actress who plays the ex wife's sister, but everyone who's not the main character is a little bit left out as its really the husband's movie.

rovegno-1 Excellent film, a mixture of comedy and tragedy, with outstanding acting and a well-carved script.Tender, nostalgic and very witty, with good camera angles. Check for the music, and for the fact, that almost all the 92 minutes of the movie, is shot in the department of Nora.The movie has been presented in the Lima Cinematographic Festival in August 2009, includes a rather sarcastic point of view of the Jewish belief, as well as the depiction of such important characters as Nora's ex husband, the cousin, the maid and the rabbis and all the Jewish characters that appear in the movie. Is worth to note, that the flashbacks are very well decided, but you never truly understand the love the the ex husband still had, or the reason why Nora decides to take her own life.