Rainbow review: ‘A Wizard of Oz’ inspired movie that falls flat

Rainbow is a Spanish drama that follows Dora, a sixteen-year-old girl who embarks on a journey with her dog and three companions in search of her mother. The movie is now streaming on Netflix.

Story

Dora is a sixteen-year-old girl who lives in a small town with her father and a dog named Toto. Frustrated that she knows nothing about her mother, Dora runs away with her dog in search of her.

She pays a visit to the Weizegs’ house, where her mother once worked, but learns about her grandmother, Maribel, and her relationship with Coco Weizegs.

Coco accidentally kills her husband and frames Dora for the murder. Dora finds herself in a terrible situation, but she flees and continues the search for her mother.

She encounters three distinct individuals, each one of them having problems of their own. Still, they accompany her in completing her quest.

When Dora runs into her grandmother again, she tells her the truth about her mother’s disappearance and Coco’s evil intentions. Following that, she assists Dora in inheriting the money that is rightfully hers.

Performances

Dora Postigo is a joy to watch in the lead role as Dora, elevating the modern Dorothy to a whole new level.

Ayax Pedrosa, as Muneco, presents himself as a naive and foolish drug addict, but this isn’t reflected on the screen as effectively.

Carmen Maura as Coco and Carmen Machi as Maribel struggle to bring their villainous characters to life. Instead, it appears on screen as a muddled, one-dimensional, and cringy cast of characters.

Positives

Dora’s dream sequences are vibrant, and the contemporary musical moments thrown in between them are projected nicely on screen, which is arguably the movie’s only entertaining aspect.

Negatives

The movie is presented as a retelling of The Wizard of Oz, but despite its best efforts to draw parallels with the original story, there is simply nothing about it that justifies going through the nearly two-hour-long movie.

It starts off promising, building up the characters before throwing them into conflict, but its mediocre plot surely doesn’t live up to the expectations.

The story appears to have been pieced together hastily, with poor writing. What must have looked good on paper turned out to be a case of poor concept, mediocre acting, and appalling execution.

Verdict

As a stylized retelling of a classic tale, Rainbow falls short. This is a muddled, meandering production with some good bits, but it’s not likely to entertain or excite you. It never reaches its full potential in any scene in the movie.

Rainbow
Rainbow review: 'A Wizard of Oz' inspired movie that falls flat 1

Director: Paco León

Date Created: 2022-09-30 12:30

Editor's Rating:
1.5

Also Read: Rainbow ending explained: Does Dora find her mother?

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