Make it look like an accident Gerardo Herrero

Is Carmen Maura there? Yes. The Almodovar girl? Yes. Is that good news, or not? Make it look like an accident (Que parezca un accidente) is a black comedy about suspicion and clandestine love… or is it?

Doubts remain throughout this film, which has some special ingredients such as a fabulous cast (Carmen Maura and Federico Luppi) but a weak plot. Failing to make us laugh from beginning to end, it might just steal a smile or a convincing yawn.

Pilar has a strange intuition telling her that Gregorio, her daughter’s husband, is having a romance with somebody else. Obsessed with his cheating, she hires Arturo, a hit man who is about to retire. Arturo then gets an unexpected visit from his son, who wants to follow in his footsteps and learn the keys to being an important and respected man.

A series of misunderstandings leads to conflict, but this causes a slow boredom as we aren’t surprised by anything that happens. The music - composed by Jorge Drexler, who won an Oscar for best soundtrack in 2005 - doesn’t help the development of the story and becomes an obstacle rather than an engine of suspense. The film itself ends up as an accident.

Claudio Sánchez Castro