Parents' Guide to Valentin

VALENTIN is an 8-year-old boy (Rodgrigo Noya) who narrates this story about tough breaks in childhood. Valentin is told his mother was unfaithful to his father and either left or was sent away when he was small. He wants to see her, and references to her make it seem as if she was either physically abused or mentally ill or suffering from an addiction. Valentin is assured from others that she loves him but is either too afraid of the father or too ashamed of her condition to show herself to the boy. He tells one friend of hers that he would take his mother "just as she is," if only she would show up. Valentin lives with his ailing grandmother (Carmen Maura), who dwells largely in the past, longing for her deceased husband and lamenting the way her son -- Valentin's father -- turned out. The father (director Alejandro Agresti) rarely comes around to see the boy, and when he does, it's often to introduce his son to a new girlfriend, someone who is bound to leave as soon as she figures out what a brute the dad is. One such ex is the kind and sublime Leticia (Julieta Cardinali), who forms a sweet attachment with Valentin but disappears quickly when she gets to know the father. Nevertheless, Valentin seeks her out and establishes his own friendship with her, introducing her to a far better man, with whom she finally forms an enduring relationship. Valentin gives up on being an astronaut and decides to become a writer, with the autobiographical movie the seeming result of his work.