A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings
A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings
| 01 January 1988 (USA)
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An elderly man with wings is blown off course during a tropical storm in this symbolic fantasy. The Old Man lands near a Caribbean island where a poor family gives him shelter in a chicken coop. Father Gonzaga is the skeptical priest who rushes to damn the creature. Soon the Old Man is the subject of curiosity seekers as Elisinda and Pelayo start charging admission. A traveling carnival of human oddities camps near the Old Man as people flock to see the show. The Old Man is reduced to being an unwanted pet, and after six years, he mends his wings and flies away. Nudity, simulated sex with a spider woman, and the ugliness of human exploitation definitely put this fantasy in a category not for children.

Reviews
Cubussoli

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

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UnowPriceless

hyped garbage

Erica Derrick

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

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Philippa

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

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mbumba

Fernando birri directed this film in collaboration with the Cuban film institute. this film is based on a short story by gabriel garcia marquez. the "angel" that falls to earth is indeed an old man with enormous wings, and not at all clean. the very humble and unsophisticated people in the village where it befell, exploit his novelty for profit. the old man is not an angel, but a metaphor that represents natural resources that are lucratively commodified, and finally exhausted. if you are following me now, then you can see for yourself what the carnival represents. at the end of the movie the old man escapes his cage, but unfortunately some of us that have seen this movie have yet to leave ours.

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beatboy94

Although there is admittedly a non-Hollywood flavor to this movie--a cultural difference that will not be to everyone's taste--it's pretty faithful to Marquez's short story. Many of my students who read the story become nearly hostile about its cryptic, impenetrable refusal to make "logical" sense. The human characters behave abysmally; the angel is unreadable and ultimately undefined; the story is not so much a story as a long comment.It has been said that the angel is actually a mask for Marquez himself. In that regard, this film is a fine reminder of the author's own resistance to categorization.

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GuyCC

Let me put it this way: I hated this movie. For the first five minutes, I believed that the film was going to be interesting: During a storm, an angel washes up into two peoples backyard, and although a married couple take the angel in, the man decides to free him the next day. While the skepticism and curiosity from the neighbors would be a natural plot point, it soon turns to absolute shameless exhibitionism and cruel treatment of this supposed "divine messenger". This is only coupled with the fact that a carnival rolls into town. For well over an hour, all the viewer sees is the angel being tortured by spectators and his captors, and the gyrating "Spider-Woman". After a while, the angel is pretty much forgotten, substituted with "Spider-Woman" wiggling her hips and huge mob scenes. The last five minutes of the film, between the son and the angel is like the beginning: decent. However, the 80-90 minutes in between is pure trash, and I'm angry that I wasted two hours of my life on this film.If this film is trying to say that there is no redemption in humanity, then it got its point across. While the angel manages to escape, I felt like there should have been some kind of retribution against these thoughtless, backwoods idiots.With the angel being freed from his captors, so was I from this movie. I felt like I was being tortured right along with him, and was relieved when it ended.

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Mariposa-6

What would you do if you found a sick, decrepit angel in your backyard? "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings" comments on faith and doubt as it explores the arrival of a winged old man who washes ashore into the lives of Pelayo and Elisenda. They put him first into a chicken coop(because of his wings), then on display and charge admission for the townspeople to see him. A doubting priest provides comic relief and pokes fun at the not easily convinced Catholic Church. The soundtrack is excellent. All fans of Garcia Marquez must not go another minute without seeing this movie.

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