199 Tips to Be Happy

During an exorbitantly sweltering summer in Barcelona, a Chilean couple, Tomás en Helena, receive an unexpected visit. The visitor is Sandra, the girlfriend of Helena’s younger brother. He had just disappeared without trace after he dived off a rock into the water right in front of Sandra.
Sandra isn’t in a hurry and seems to want to extend her stay. While the hostess falls ill and Tomás has the unenviable task of trying to sell the umpteenth self-help book for his publisher, the young Sandra slowly but surely manages to wind both adults around her little finger. She’s soon leading her own life outside the house, but lies about it. Back home, in the small apartment, she evokes as much sympathy as lust and what was once a stable relationship slowly but surely becomes unsettled.
In his second feature, Waissbluth displays a sharp psychological insight and plays a refined game with naiveté, guilt, manipulation and suppressed desires. Second-rate tips for fortune hunters pop up in the form of modern title cards – as minor ironic intermezzos and the film maker occasionally portrays the fantasy world of the characters. The film is beautifully shot by the versatile cameraman Inti Briones, responsible last year for The Sky, the Earth and the Rain by José Luis Torres Leiva and this festival also for the photography of Raùl Ruiz’ Nucingen Haus. (GT)

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