Family Law, from Argentine Writer/Director Daniel Burman, is a wholesome Woody-Allenesque film about guy stuff. Now, before both sexes start rolling their eyes, a little patience; it’s about the guy stuff that most guys—at least, my group of guys—don’t like to talk about, but should.

Burman uses this film to address the transitions from son to father, and father to grandfather. He believes, and I agree, that these are things that men need to talk about with other guys—friends, priests, fathers, sons. Not that the females in our lives wouldn’t be interested in hearing the deep-down feelings of our souls, but they wouldn’t understand. I know that my wife, for instance, would be absolutely enraptured if I could actually have this conversation with her. And it isn’t that I don’t want to speak with her about it. But it isn’t the same. It is a truly a guy thing. Sorry, ladies.

In Family Law, Burman ingeniously uses subtlety and silence to bring this dialogue to the table. His film is oozing with pathos and meaning. But as Burman observes in the film’s publicity materials, “words are overrated.” Again I agree. You don’t always need to tell people what you are trying to say; often the look on your face more accurately conveys your true feelings. It is hard enough to pull the feelings out without having to actually explain them. Don’t we all have a limitation in truly getting to the bottom of our souls, anyway?

Burman’s tale is about two men named Perelman. There is a third, too—but he is only three years old, and “Perelman” is a bit pretentious for the little guy. So we have Perelman, Sr., Perelman, Jr., and Junior’s son Gaston. Perelman, Sr. is a well-known attorney in their city. He practices a circuit-rider style of law. He actually makes house calls! He spends the majority of his day calling on clients. Sometimes he gives advice, often he accompanies them to meetings with magistrates. Sometimes he just checks in on them. He is loved by many. His son, Perelman, Jr., naturally loves him, too. (After all, he is following in his papa’s footsteps, except that he does not practice law; he teaches it.) Perelman, Jr. has taken a less risky road. He is a government employee with a regular salary and everything. Sr. has asked Jr. to join the “firm” over the years but has never pushed it. Suddenly, though, Sr. starts to push…

This is where the story gets touching and complex. For some reason, Perelman the elder begins to reach out to Jr. and his family. The son doesn’t understand the timing or the reason. Why does he pursue a relationship now? Junior finds out, of course, but telling here would spoil the movie.

Family Law is enjoyable because it is paced in such a way as to allow it to become your story, and the dialogue is under-written to great effect—clever but also exceedingly mundane sometimes. Its sparseness adds luster to the story as we can visually see the introspection behind the thoughtful lines. No throw-away banter. The slow pace, which American audiences may find boring, is powerful and instructive. We have time to get to know these characters as people. And though no great earth-shattering event suddenly brings out the best (or worst) in these characters, life itself subtly and gradually lades its burdens both on top of and inside them. As Perelman reaches out to his son, the son is driven to self-examination, which I heartily recommend. It is well worth the effort.

The camera work in this movie is interesting; it is not exactly distracting, but many of the scenes are augmented by a quick pace which is quite different from the tempo of the rest of the film. The action of the camera in these sequences resembles a musical piece in 4/4 time with a solo playing in 3/4 over the top of it. In a word… it works. But it adds some tension.

Finally, I was impressed with the insight of this movie. It seems to me that Daniel Burman has been doing some self-analysis and some observation about what is important in life. He bears some listening to.

Family Law is unrated. I’d gauge it about PG-13, for one sex scene between husband and wife. There’s also another scene in which a babysitter climbs into Perelman Jr.’s bed while his wife is away. He has worked late and collapses into bed without noticing she is there. Oops! It is kind of funny and handled very delicately—something that polite company might describe as a “nice recovery.”

Courtesy of a local publicist, Mike attended a press screening of Family Law.