The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This is my first review, it'll be quick and to the point.There has never been a movie that has changed my emotion and played with my mind and I congratulate the director/writer "Carlos Vermunt" for doing so.First of all the thing I really love about this movie is how almost every scene is empty in terms of colors. Almost every wall, clothes, and lighting is sort of pale which gives the movie a sort of dark/empty feel to it.Nothing could have prepared me for this movie, emotionally speaking.I give this a 7 due to my personal feelings of the climax, you may love it or you may hate it based on how it all ends. Needless to say, this movie is art.

The plot is, a father trying to fulfill his daughter with terminal cancer's last wish of a "Magical Girl" costume crashes into the lives of a disturbed girl and a retired professor.Magical Girl is written and directed by Carlos Vermut and (in a Pulp Fiction style) focuses on three stories and characters that are all equally understandable and fascinating. The story is definitely the core of Magical Girl. It is one that subverts expectation. It can make you laugh, cry, or feel disturbed, and all while being a perfect whole. It is also one that makes for an equally great rewatch. There are dozens of details scattered in the movie that can only make sense on a second viewing. Sometimes, these details can even change the context of a previous scene.The acting and camera-work are good without being too exceptional, but the way they work with the unfolding events can make them much more effective. And the movie never feels constrained by its budget in any way. The song choices are not only great and incredibly memorable, but they also have an important role in the story.Magical Girl is one of the most unappreciated gems of 2014. It is entertaining, emotionally powerful, unique, and intelligent at the same time. It takes very little to get invested, and you will be on the edge of your seat. I adore this film and would highly recommend Magical Girl, it is a must-see.

Horrible girl, ill-advised girl, disturbing girl... Anything but magical."Magical girl" has an easily understood plot, which still makes not much sense, because everything is symbolic and with various layers. Which makes the story, quite disturbing to start with, think of itself in a too highly way.It all goes about a young girl, who is sick, and who would like to have a dress from an anime, a Japanese animation series. Her father, decides to do whatever, but whatever, to get her the dress.That everyone in this movie has some kind of mental problem, or is in mental pain, is quite obvious. The young girl is probably the sanest in all the story. Too bad we are all the time with the creepy father, a young woman with a dark past, who has a very controlling and creepy husband, and a creepy old teacher of her who has just been released from prison. All characters are quite creepy. And this without taking into account the constant hammering of symbols, which also have a strange patriotic tinge to it (bullfighting to justify that Spaniards are not like the Nordic people but neither like Italians or Latinos?; the very Spanish music or the TV playing a Spanish selection match...).So, the movie seems to say that people in pain or who see people in pain may do crazy things. It could also be about the sick girl and everything be about her illness. Or about the young woman and the very sick life she has had till that moment (and all the "nice" men that surround her). In the end, magic is conspicuous by its absence, but creepiness overstays its welcome, as the movie is two hours long.

This San Sebastian winner Magical Girl was well played and compellingly directed by Carlos Vermut . It's not hard to recognize tales that have been reverse-engineered , those that fashion individual roles and contrive to bring those disparate souls together in the most convenient way possible . Far more weird is the story that begins from a center and organically evolves , unwittingly capturing its ancillary players . Carlos Vermut's "Magical Girl" certainly feels like the latter , developing sad events by means of an intriguing as well as thought-provoking atmosphere . It stars with Luis Bermejo and Barbara Lennie ; star Jose Sacristan also top-lines . The impetus for all of this intrigue is a sudden hospital visit for Alicia (Alicia Pollan) , a 12-year-old girl living with leukemia and she dreams to have a dress of a famous Japanese series : Magical Girl , Yukiro . Her father Luis (Luis Bermejo) learns that Alicia is terminal (a detail never explicitly stated but delivered in the first clear example that Vermut is in complete control of his story) . After Alicia is released , he stumbles across Alicia's diary, discovering her wish to own a dress identical to one worn by her favorite anime star . When the price tag results out to be far beyond his dwindling savings , the daddy attempts to get it at whatever means . Because of this last wish he will meet a disturbed girl (Barbara Lennie) and a retired school professor (Jose Sacristan) . 'Magical Girl' is a razor-sharp flick of unintended consequences . This is an interesting film , it is both an asset and a weakness of Spanish director Carlos Vermut's sophomore feature , an elaborately contrived, imagination-dependent dark comedy/drama that operates through sleight of hand , misleading into following a preteen leukemia patient's dying wish while it assembles another , far more sinister secondary narrative deep in its viewers' collective subconscious . The picture relies heavily between relation between an obstinate dad and his daughter with terminal cancer , both of whom weaving their troubled lives together with ample sorrow . Rare flick , its has a few gaps and is slow moving , but anyway, it is compensated with the great performances . Good acting from Luis Bermejo as unfortunate father of an ill girl tries to obtain her daughter last wish , to get the dress of the main character of a Japanese TV series and Barbara Lennie gives a splendid portrayal of a emotionally affecting young woman . Special mention for Jose Sacristan , a veteran actor who was born in 1937 , Chinchón, Madrid . He is an magnificent actor and occasionally director, especially known for Un Lugar en Mundo (1992), Éste Es Mi barrio (1996) and El Viaje a Ninguna Parte (1986). He is married to also actress Leonor Benedetto. Other important films he performed are the followings : Un Hombre Llamado Flor de Otoño , Niñas.. Al Salón , Reina Zanahoria , Acto Posesión , Asignatura Pendiente , Hasta Matrimonio Nos Separe and Parranda . In addition , Sacristan directed three acceptable films : 1977 Yo Bajo en la Próxima, ¿y Usted? , 1987 Cara Acelga and 1983 Soldados De Plomo . Confirming the emergence of an original voice able to reflect on the impact of Spain's crisis while constructing scenes of a near Tarantino-esque tension, "Magical Girl" nabbed seven Goya Noms . However , Alberto Rodriguez's thriller Marshland was the clear winner at the 29th Goya Awards, Daniel Monzon's El Nino, which had been nominated in 16 categories, won four technical awards, while Carlos Vermut's Magical Girl only landed the top actress for Barbara Lennie's portrayal of a emotionally fragile woman . Besides , this deliberately "wrong" cult offering (which won prizes for best film and director at San Sebastian . The motion picture was originally directed by Carlos Vermut . Vermut comes to cinema from a background in comic-book illustration, and though he brings a strong visual sense to his big screen work , including his low-budget debut, "Diamond Flash" , though he previously made some successful Shorts .