Â鶹Éç

Amiable but slight, To Die In San Hilario is a comedy of misunderstanding that revolves around Piernas Germán (Lluis Homar), a gangster who stumbles across the sleepy town of the title, a place where they stick 'em in the ground with style. Mistaken for the rich artist who'd booked a classy burial, he shuffles towards a predictable redemption. And we do mean shuffle, Laura Mañá's film being paced like a funeral cortège. Still, it occasionally charms and there's a satisfying send-off.

"The cemetery is our past, our present and our future," muses one of the townsfolk as they await the arrival of the ready-to-die moneybags whose internment will boost their ailing reputation. Meanwhile, Germán is on the run with the million-dollar booty from a botched bank robbery. A leap from a moving train lands him in San Hilario, where he receives an unexpectedly warm welcome.

"PACED LIKE A FUNERAL CORTèGE"

You can more or less guess the rest. Of course, there are loveable folksy eccentrics everywhere you turn (notably aspiring artist Ferran Rañé). Of course, Germán gradually learns to be a better man. And of course, this is mostly due to the love of a good woman, in this case widow Esther (sympathetically played by Ana Fernández).

Rather than exploit the story's potential for some Ealing-esque black laughs, writer/director Mañá tends towards soft-hearted whimsy. She contrives a couple of chuckle-worthy situations (one involving Germán having to paint a mural), but they're hardly what you'd call hilario. Plenty of pretty scenery to keep the eye engaged, but as a film fixated on funerals, this wants for a deeper plot.