The Nest

El Nido is a strange film. It moves along at an odd speed, occasionally fast-paced, and occasionally slow. This is typical for the films of Jaime de Armiñán; they can often jump many months without warning. Also typical is the slightly mocking gaze that the film always has turned to its characters. These are characters who are quirky and behave foolishly.

The film asks us also to be sentimental about their behaviors, to care for the characters. Armiñán places them in absurd circumstances, but these circumstances seem to be serving the filmmaker's mockery more than his affection. He certainly is affectionate toward his characters, it's just that the mockery so often seems to outweigh that affection.  

El Nido wasn't really for me. I wanted to identify with the main character, but it just didn't happen. Worse yet, I didn't laugh very much either.