La Mujer de Mi Hermano

Stock characters with their paint-by-numbers feelings cliché their way through a cinematic version of Adultery for Dummies in director Ricardo de Montreuil’s inexplicably enticing film. Experienced Telemundo star Bárbara Mori doesn’t stretch her acting skills far in this big-screen soap opera as a wife with a depressingly monotonous life of 20 green grapes for breakfast every morning, robotic sex with her by-the-book husband every Saturday, and nothing else in between. That is, until she has a secretive bed-sheet shuffle with her brother-in-law, a free-spirited arteest unfamiliar with the word “schedule”—or “grooming.” Soon, her monotonous life turns not so monotonous when she gets pregnant, and not by her sterile husband. The standard checklist of feelings and actions continue through the 89-minute running time. Nevertheless, this film somehow exudes a compelling air through the tug-of-war between security and spontaneity, routine and romance. Also, Mori’s captivating looks and Angelo Milli’s impressive score help keep the viewer hooked until the end.