Instructions Not Included

The real story of this film is at the box office. It opened in the United States on 30 August 2013 and broke the record for a Spanish-language film there, taking $38.6m and passing Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth at $37.6m. Worldwide it reached a hundred million dollars, and it set records in Mexico too. Eugenio Derbez directed, co-wrote, co-produced and starred. He was the best-known name in Mexican television comedy, and this was read as one man doing in a single attempt what Hollywood had failed to do for years. Valentín, who spends his life with women in Acapulco, finds a baby at his door. The mother leaves. He goes to Los Angeles to look for her, does not find her, and raises his daughter Maggie alone for six years. Loreto Peralta plays her, in her first role. Who it is for: viewers who like family stories that hold comedy and melodrama in the same film and openly set out to make you cry. Who it is not for: anyone wanting restraint. The final section opens the emotional pressure all the way, and the distance from the humour of the setup can be uncomfortable.