Summer in Andalusia - Movie Review

After falling in love with the adorable creature on My Neighbor Totoro and enjoying Ponyo I'm often game for other anime films. Enter my pick for this weekend: Summer in Andalusia (Vimeo), featuring Pepe, a likable Spanish bike racer riding in the Vuelta y Espana. It's a light-hearted look at Spanish culture, families supporting racers,  and contrast between two brothers who rode together as children but went their separate ways as adults. The only odd thing—at least to me—was listening to Japanese language (the film is made in Japan), while looking at a hot, arid Spanish landscape, and reading English subtitles. Nevertheless it's a worthwhile film, presented in a manageable timeframe—45 minutes.

After I finished the movie, I discovered there's a sequel: Suitcase no Wataridori (on Youtube, pick subtitles). Pepe is still racing, but deals with a Marco Pantani-esque character, briefly introduced in the first film. I'll watch the second film at another time.