The Noble Family
| The Noble Family | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Gary Alazraki |
| Produced by | Leonardo Zimbron |
| Written by | Adrian Zurita, Patricio Saiz, Gary Alazraki |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Gaz Alazraki |
Production company |
Alazraki Films |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 108 minutes |
| Country | Mexico |
| Language | Spanish |
| Box office | $26,094,935[1] |
The Noble Family (Spanish: Nosotros los Nobles) is a 2013 Mexican dark comedy film directed by Gary Alazraki, starring Gonzalo Vega, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Karla Souza and Juan Pablo Gil, with Ianis Guerrero, Carlos Gascón and Mario Haddad in supporting roles.
Plot
Wealthy Mexico City businessman Germán Noble frets that his three grown children, Javier, Bárbara, and Carlos, are doing nothing with their lives. He’s never broached the subject because of the depression he imagines they must feel in the wake of their mother’s death.
Though Javier theoretically works in his father's construction company, he spends much of his time partying with friends. When not socializing, he dreams up unrealistic projects that make a mockery of his father's partner, Anwar Karim. Hoping to motivate Javier, Germán tells him he’s left the company to him, which Javier takes as a cue to jet off to Miami with his friends, leaving an underling to take his place at the executive office.
Bárbara is a socialite about to commit to Peter, a man 20 years her senior who’s left several failed businesses in his wake and filed for bankruptcy numerous times. He’s hoping that Bárbara’s trust fund will help him pay off his enormous tax debt.
Carlos, Germán’s youngest child, is a hipster that has been expelled from college for being caught by the dean having sex with Lucía, one of his teachers.
At some point Germán’s frustration finally leads him to a heart attack. While in the hospital, he decides to give his children a lesson and a taste of the real world. He tells them that union troubles and an embezzling partner have led the government to freeze his assets and that as shareholders of the company the whole family could end up in prison. Germán convinced them to hide and cut off all contact with friends and relatives (the better to protect his charade), and move into a dilapidated house his father owned in a modest area of Mexico City. The children will also have to support themselves, which means getting jobs for the first time in their lives.
A friend’s father helps Carlos get a job as a bank teller, while Lucho, nephew of the family's old Maid, helps Bárbara find work as a waitress and Javier as a bus driver.
With a house falling down around them and bills to pay, the three immediately find themselves struggling to make ends meet. Their new situation causes them to see things in a new light. Bárbara discovers that Lucho, who she used to think of as poor and unworthy of her time, as a nice guy. Javier sees his old party friends as shallow hangers-on. Carlos starts to create some discipline to his life. Germán also learns a lot from his children during their separation, and is dismayed to learn that Bárbara has bulimia, Javier is dyslexic and that he himself often spent too much time at work while they were children.
Meanwhile, Peter, Bárbara's boyfriend, finds out the family's hideout and the truth about Germán’s scheme. Even though Peter knows it’s all just a ploy to teach the kids a lesson, he tries to blackmail Germán into giving him power over Bárbara’s trust fund. Germán refuses, but in the process he’s forced to admit the truth to his children. The revelation generates a feeling of anger and distrust from the children to their father. However Bárbara realised that Peter's only intention was to obtain her money, and breaks with him. Disappointed the three siblings decide to distance from their father, keep their jobs and fully repair the old house.
Gérman's wish to see his children mature and living independent is finally realized. Carlos leaves the bank and gets a real job, Javier opens a business of his own, and Bárbara and Lucho become engaged.
By the end of the film we see Gérman knocking on the, now restored, front door of the old house, the children open, and he asks for forgiveness. They reconcile acknowledging that everything was for a greater good.
After the credits Peter is inside a prison cell, for his tax debts, as two fellow inmates approach to molest him.
Cast
- Gonzalo Vega - Germán Noble
- Karla Souza - Bárbara "Barbie" Noble
- Luis Gerardo Méndez - Javier "Javi" Noble
- Juan Pablo Gil - Carlos "Charlie" Noble
- Ianis Guerrero - Lucho
- Carlos Gascón - Peter / Pedro Pintado
- Quezali Cortés - Gilberto Marín
- Mario Haddad - Anwar Karim
- Alberto Zeni - Juan Pablo
- Mary Paz Mata - Margarita the nanny
- Carlos Alazraki - The dean of the college
- Ana Karina Guevara - Carmen
- Mariana Braun - Teacher Lucía
- Marell Cano - Danny
- Gary Alazraki (cameo) - Santiago
Filming
The movie was filmed on location in Mexico City.
Influences
The film's plot was taken from the 1949 Mexican film The Great Madcap directed by Luis Buñuel, starring Fernando Soler and Rosario Granados.
Home media
The film was released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in July 2013.
Box office
The movie debuted in fourth position on March 22 taking more than US $ 964,000. But the good reception of the movie and public recommendations, led to the film taking first place in its fourth weekend, taking US $1.9 million, by that point, the film had taken almost US $15 million making it the most successful Mexican film of all time. After 15 weeks in the Mexican Box Office top 10, the film reached $ 26 million dollars and currently is the sixth highest grossing film in the Mexican Box Office in 2013.