Okay, this is strange. Despite the DVD having menu options for Spanish, English, French and Italian languages, I could only get the movie to play in Spanish with no subtitles, which made it very difficult to fully understand. I didn’t understand “Biodome” either, but that didn’t stop me from watching the whole thing (and I guarantee this will be the only review that links the two films), so I figured I’d do the same here. I got a bit of information off the back of the DVD case which gave some clues as to the plot, which was a good start.
Inspired by the book The Baron in the Trees, this true story deals with a boy who lives on various rooftops in Barcelona. Migue is the boy, and he’s shown at a young age (Daniel Casadella) and as an older teen or young twentysomething (Eloi Yebra). From there it gets a bit foggy. I couldn’t determine if the young boy was daydreaming or the older version was having flashbacks as the film showed the older version having sex with Mara (Alicia Gorina) on some roof and the young version walking along some wall. The older Migue and his friends also steal stuff and maybe even do drugs (a friend of Migue’s seems to be having hallucinations). It was hard to tell when everything was in a language I don’t speak. That said, the film was beautifully filmed and had an excellent score. I was disappointed I couldn’t understand the dialogue, but it did give “Bamboleho” a dream-like quality (unlike “Biodome,” which was a nightmare). Combine that with the nudity and sex, and the film is definitely worth spending fourteen minutes with, even if your Spanish only goes as far as Taco Bell.
