Jean-François and the Meaning of Life's reviews
Media reviews
El Periódico
The first feature film of Sergi Portabella isn't pedant or pretentious but a moving fable less naive of what it would seem in the shape of a road movie, of a self-discovery journey, that uses the molds of the French romantic comedy with touches of brit-pop to speak about the search for one's identity.
Fotogramas
Moving apology of the books as an eternal and wide fountain of intelligence and a firm sentence of bullying, the movie takes the shape of a road movie in which, as in every film of the genre, every new character who comes in the way (either literal or metaphorical) is vital to the construction of a Jean-François that will not only look for a sense to his life: he'll be also open to new offers and suggestions.
El Mundo
An initiation story inspired by Truffaut, guided by the compass of the existentialist Albert Camus, finds an amazing balance between the lightness of its tone and the deepness of its sensed reflexion, held by a sober and efficient miseé-en-scene, a stimulating use of the soundtrack and the convincing interpretation of Max Megías.
Cinemanía
Sergi Portabella, who debuts in the film with a good hand a very fine aesthetic sense, places the jam in deciding if life is worth living. It's a small road movie in which a half colorist, half philosophical exercise fights for escaping, the movie never loses its character and combines the intimist tone with the formal playing.