At 76, Mr. Kaplan has a severe existential crisis. As he begins to question his worth, he comes across the strange case when his grand-daughter mentions about a German man who runs a café near the beach. Convinced that he has found an escaped “Nazi”, Mr.Kaplan, himself a Jew who fled from the Nazis as a child, teams up with the expelled cop, Contreras, who incidentally turns out to be a slacker, to kidnap the German & take him to justice.
Language:
Spanish
Running Time:
94 min
Rating:
–
Release date:
6 August 2014
Directed by:
Álvaro Brechner
Produced by:
Álvaro Brechner
Cecilia Mato
Verona Meier
Written by:
Álvaro Brechner
Starring:
Héctor Noguera
Néstor Guzzini
Nidia Telles
Nuria Fló
Leonor Svarcas
Music by:
Mikel Salas
Shot by:
Álvaro Gutiérrez
Editing by:
Nacho Ruiz Capillas

What’s Hot

  • Héctor Noguera who essays the titular role, is a revelation. He brings out his identity crisis brilliantly on screen in the first few moments of the film. His conviction on nailing the Nazi is also portrayed in a terrific fashion. In fact he reminds us faintly of Larry David & Woody Allen on many occasions.
  • The co-conspirator for Mr.Kaplan in his endeavor to bring the Nazi to justice, is a good-for-nothing alcoholic ex-cop, Contreras played by Néstor Guzzini. He becomes the quintessential adorable underdog being all flabby & good natured but in the end he too gets his share of the limelight.
  • Scenes such as the one where they interrogate the Nazi’s daughter, crash the funeral of the Nazi’s friend and of course the wonderful standoff in the vein of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, stay with you long after the movie ends specifically due to the dialogues & modulation. As the film moves forward, the audience involuntarily roots for the couple of underdogs.
  • Of the supporting cast, Rolf Becker who played the Nazi, Mr.Kaplan’s wife Rebecca (Nidia Telles), & his granddaughter Lottie (Nuria Flo) sparkle in their respective roles. Special mention to the casting/styling of the Rolf Becker with that steely face adorned by those smashing coolers.
  • The background score by Mikel Salas plays a vital part in holding the movie together. The music fits in very well with the Latin flavor of coastal Uruguay. The camera work, cuts and the background score orchestration during the The Good, the Bad and the Ugly standoff is simply out-of-the-world.

What’s Not

  • Most of the situations placed in movie lead to typically bland jokes on the lines of Monty Python & Woody Allen. So people who do not enjoy that type of comedy would become plain bored pretty soon.

Badges

Screened at

The Chennai International Film Festival (CIFF) 2014

The Chennai International Film Festival (CIFF) 2014 scheduled from Dec 18 -25 is an annual film festival organised by a film society, the Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation (ICAF), with the support of the government of Tamil Nadu, the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce and the Film Federation of India.

Event Info

Date of Screening : 19-Dec-2014
Venue and Time : Woodlands, 7.15 PM

About

Verdict

Verdict Stamp

Mr.Kaplan is an amusing ride of an aged man & a darling ex-cop as they aim to redefine their respective average lives. Fantastic out-of-the-box situations coupled with the crowd-pleasing antics of the two leads make this a film that you will certainly not regret watching.