When my son was still a baby, I slipped while carrying him down the stairs. When I came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, dazed and confused, I had a moment of sheer panic, thinking I may have let go of my son while falling. We were lucky - my natural instinct had been to hold on tight. I had a few bruises but my son was safe. It could have been a whole lot worse...
Jesús (David Pareja) buys an ugly glass-topped coffee table, against the wishes of his wife Maria (Estefanía de los Santos), and it turns out to be the worst decision of his life. Looking after his newborn son while Maria is at the shops, he has an accident, the glass on the coffee table shattering and decapitating his baby. What follows is a most uncomfortable watch, as Jesús - in a state of shock - is unable to come to terms with what has happened, fear and guilt eating away at him until he can take no more.
There was absolutely no way this film was going to end happily, writer director Caye Casas deliberately putting his viewers through the emotional wringer to leave them drained and exhausted. It's a well acted and smartly directed movie with touches of dark humour which serve to make the film an even more uncomfortable experience.
Definitely not recommended to new parents, but if you're in the mood for something challenging and bleak, The Coffee Table should do the trick.
8/10
N. B. Despite how it looks, the coffee table salesman is not played by Ron Jeremy and Jesús's brother is not David Baddiel.
Jesús (David Pareja) buys an ugly glass-topped coffee table, against the wishes of his wife Maria (Estefanía de los Santos), and it turns out to be the worst decision of his life. Looking after his newborn son while Maria is at the shops, he has an accident, the glass on the coffee table shattering and decapitating his baby. What follows is a most uncomfortable watch, as Jesús - in a state of shock - is unable to come to terms with what has happened, fear and guilt eating away at him until he can take no more.
There was absolutely no way this film was going to end happily, writer director Caye Casas deliberately putting his viewers through the emotional wringer to leave them drained and exhausted. It's a well acted and smartly directed movie with touches of dark humour which serve to make the film an even more uncomfortable experience.
Definitely not recommended to new parents, but if you're in the mood for something challenging and bleak, The Coffee Table should do the trick.
8/10
N. B. Despite how it looks, the coffee table salesman is not played by Ron Jeremy and Jesús's brother is not David Baddiel.