Film Review: 'A gun in each hand'

MANILA, Philippines – “A gun in each hand” shoots wisdom rather than bullets. The Spanish comedy film by Cesc Gay (Una pistol en cada mano) includes a powerhouse cast – Ricardo Darin, Eduardo Noriega, Javier Camara, Eduardo Fernandez, Leonardo Sbaraglia,  Luis Tosar, Candela Pena and Leonor Watling . The almost 94-minute film consisted of six short-structured features – all of which tell a story about mid-life crises and sexual emasculation at the hands of their significant others, or ex-others.

The film shows stories and emancipation of love, loss and acceptance. The first story is about two old friends meeting again, only to find out that their lives are not just like what they expected to be – both of them having messed up relationship with their wives. It was followed by a story about a man who tries to win his wife back after the divorce. Unfortunately for him, his wife is already pregnant with another man’s child. What’s even worse is he found it out right after declaring the speech about his undying love for his wife. Meanwhile, the third story is about two acquaintances: the other one tells a story about how his wife is having an affair while the other one listens to his burdens. It was later found out that the man whom his wife is having an affair with is right in front of him.

In all cases, Gay uses such encounters to discover the shifting gender roles in Spanish society. It was  far from the macho days and closer to a matriarchy where women rule the men, including in bed.

The men in the film are submissive to their partners. This was shown as well in the case when the male character opts to understand his wife despite her having an affair with another man. He attempts to talk to the third party about how he should act and the changes he could do so his wife would not leave him.

The film shows witty and surprising messages in the most clever way, by starting off light and casual and then revealing afterwards the chaos and truth lying within each character. The film was executed well, portraying a battle of the sexes game and clearly pointing out that the women have won each round.

Watch trailer below.

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