Casi casi (in English, Almost) is a 2006 Puerto Rican film, written and directed by brothers Jaime and Tony Vallés.
| Casi casi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Jaime Vallés Tony Vallés |
| Written by | Jaime Vallés Tony Vallés |
| Produced by | Jaime Vallés Tony Vallés |
| Starring | Marian Pabón Mario Pabón Irene Lucio Fernando Castro - Álvarez Alexis Arce Ricardo Arias Marisa Gómez Maite Cantó Manuel Benítez Albert Rodríguez Tino García |
Release date | 2006 |
Running time | 93 minutes |
| Language | Spanish |
- This article is about the 2006 Puerto Rican film. For other meanings, see CASI.
The film takes place in a Catholic school in Puerto Rico where the main character, Emilio, is infatuated in love for Jacklynne, the most popular girl in school. In an attempt to win her over, he decides to run for Student Council President to impress her, only to discover that Jacklynne herself will be his adversary. Emilio then devises a plan, together with his friends, to rig the election and lose on purpose. All this without being caught by strict school Principal Richardson (Marian Pabón).
Title
Casi [cah'-se], adv. means: Almost, nearly, somewhat more or less; just. Casi que or casi casi, Very nearly.
Cast
- Marian Pabón - Principal Richardson
- Mario Pabón - Emilio
- Irene Lucio - María Eugenia
- Fernando Castro - Álvarez - Ángel
- Ricardo Arias - Alfredo
- Marisa Gómez - Natalia
- Alexis Arce - Mónica
- Maite Cantó - Jacklynne
- Manuel Benítez - Manolete
- Albert Rodríguez - Sr. Bismark
- Tino García - Don Paco
Production Details
First-time directors, Jaime and Tony Vallés, had some experience working in theater. However, they had never made a movie before. They then set out to learn everything they needed about it through books and the Internet [1]
To achieve this, they approached the members of their own family for help, among them Puerto Rican actress, Marian Pabón, and Mario Pabón. Most of the cast are unexperienced actors taken directly from school with the intention of giving naturality and spontaneity to the film [2].
Reviews
Despite being a low-budget film, it has received much critical praise from audiences around the world. Ronnie Scheib (Variety magazine) gave the film a very favorable review [3]. Joe Baltake, of the Philadelphia Film Festival compared it with Mean Girls and Clueless [4].
Awards
- San Diego Latino Film Festival - Audience Award [5]
- Philadelphia Film Festival - Third Place
- Chicago Latino Film Festival - Third Place
- New York International Latino Film Festival - Official Selection
- Vistas Film Festival - Official Selection
- Boston Latino Film Festival - Official Selection
Trivia and other Interesting Facts
- The auditions for the teenage parts were made in three Puerto Rican private High Schools located in San Juan: Academia del Perpetuo Socorro, Commonwealth High School, and Saint John’s School. Ricardo Arias who plays Alfredo (class 2005) and Alexis Arce who plays Mónica(class 2003) both came from Commonwealth High School. Mario Pabón who plays Emilio, Fernando Castro - Álvarez who plays Ángel, and Maite Cantó who plays Jacklynne all came from Academia del Perpetuo Socorro (all three from class 2004). Irene Lucio who plays María Eugenia (class 2003) Marisa Gómez who plays Natalia (class 2005) and Manuel Benítez who plays Manolete (class 2006) came from Saint John’s School, however, Manuel Benítez later graduated from High School in another school.
- None of the teenage actors had worked as movie actors before they took part in Casi casi.
- None of the teenage actors got to see the dailies during filming. Their first glimpse at the movie footage took place when the trailer came out, almost three years after the shooting ended.
- Originally, Ricardo Arias (Alfredo) did not want to do the movie. It was only after persuasion from the directors that he accepted the role of Alfredo.
- Originally María Eugenia’s role was cast for another young actress who left the role only a few days after filming began. Irene Lucio came in as a replacement almost two weeks into the filming.
- Manuel Benítez (Manolete) was the youngest from the eight main teenage parts (15 during filming) while Alexis Arce (Mónica) was the oldest from the eight main teenage parts (18 during filming).
- In the background of the first domino scene, one can see a picture of the late Puerto Rican Director and Actor Mario Pabón, the directors’ grandfather.
- All wardrobe, except for the school’s uniform shirts, were provided by the actors themselves.
- The makeup artist left the filming only two weeks into filming.
- In real life Mario Pabón is the directors' cousin, and Marian Pabón (The Principal) is their aunt.
- The vomit used in the film is actually canned mushroom soup.
- Both the directors, and the sound editors graduated from Perpetuo Socorro, the same school were the movie was shot.
- Maite Cantó and Fernando Castro - Álvarez briefly dated a year before the filming. In the other hand, Ricardo Arias and Marisa Gómez briefly dated a few months after production.
- Currently only four of the eight main teenage characters are involved in acting. Irene Lucio and Mario Pabón both respectively study Drama in the US. Back in Puerto Rico Marisa Gómez is involved with Jóvenes del 98 a young Puerto Rican theater group concerned with political topics. Fernando Castro - Álvarez is a published author who is involved in Puerto Rican Improv theater, and tv commercials. Also, Maite Cantó is sporadically involved in modeling.
See also
Notes
- ^ Mariela Fullana Acosta (January 11, 2007). "Primera Hora: "Casi casi" producto del ingenio de dos hermanos".
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Mariela Fullana Acosta (January 10, 2007). "Primera Hora: Marian Pabón sirve de guía a su hija y sus sobrinos".
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Ronnie Scheib (August 21, 2006). "Variety Reviews: Casi Casi".
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Joe Baltake (2006). "2006 Philadelphia Film Festival".
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Media Arts Center (2006). "San Diego Latino Film Festival Awards".
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