not as good as all the hype

An Exercise In Nonsense

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

.... tell me who you are?" And the help freeing the birds: "It does not want to fly" and the old lady: "Then you have to make it to fly." One after one the cages are opened and the birds helped to fly towards freedom. The birds are a metaphor. The birds in the cages and Marina Farfán who won the competition among many of the staff. For a ten days Playa Salamandra with another person. Everything is free. Her sister wants but can not as she divorces. And not he and not she she contacts. Marina meets by Chance Victor Mina, another loner - and Victor agrees. He is a former schoolmate she can't remember. Both were and still are loners, not looking at or seeing others. Too shy for such an adventure. To know each other before the trip they are together in different settings. A movie, a picnic, a restaurant - followed finally ... by sex. During a rain shower (the car gets stuck) the final hollywoodian question: "Will you marry me?" - followed by the yes-answer. But what will happen beyond, after the movie? Two people, being so near each other with their awkward shyness. Has their relation a future of reality?The movies message: two loners, afraid to be among others and with each other, are able not only to socialize but ... like it. Admitting their fault to each other they find a way of acceptance. And: 'cross the line' - as the end tells. Are they cured? No. They have found a way to accept each other with the possibility to live with both of there faults in a daily life. Everybody is in need of help with the first step. Even those used to it. Believing they manage it alone, Without help. They do not see the need of subtle help. As the caged birds tells: one has to open the cage and take one of the birds and the rest will follow when the first step of help is taken. Marina, returning from her trip (she decided to went alone, without Victor) is met at the airport by him. With her she has a shell as a gift for him: "It reminded me of you." He could have answered: "It is you, too."

I had a time already wanting to watch this movie, mainly because its poster made it look interesting and because I like the music - by french indie musician Sebastien Schuller-. Plus, it's part of the new Mexican cinema. I thought, like most people, that this movie is really, really slow and it's not for everyone. I would say curiosity is an important factor; curiosity to see what happens next with this 'never-fails-to-exist' character is what keeps you watching. If you work at an office, at times you'll feel identified with Víctor. Actually, whoever who has a life that is more "existed" than LIVED will identify with the main characters. Something I found interesting about this film was the symbolism present throughout the whole film in the form of a cardinal. I think it's worth the watch.

This film is a puzzle to me. Something about it thoroughly charmed me, even though watching it felt more like an obligation than an enjoyable experience.The eccentricity of the main character was an essential component in the film holding me in my seat and it so often nearly lost me. The clunky imagery, over emphasised emphasis on banality and emptiness, emotional silence and the enormously dull way that the two main characters exist (rather than live), was almost too much.But, I loved the idea of her winning the holiday and being so controlled by the experience that she deliberately secures her partner in order to conform to the convention that she thinks it demands.Not a must see.. rather a "yep you might as well"

This movie tries to be introspective and thoughtful, but I just found it dull. It follows the story of a lonely woman who wins a trip for two to the beach and must find someone to go with her. She apparently knows no one except her selfish sister, so she asks a man she runs into (at random). The man says he remembers her from high school, but she doesn't remember him at all, but no matter...she wants to go to the beach with someone. After the first 30 minutes, I checked my watch every minute or so. The story just crawled along and didn't really have anything to say. Perhaps I found it slow because this was the 9th of 10 movies we saw at Sundance this year, but the movie we saw afterward was pretty good, and I didn't look at my watch once, so I don't think so. What clinched my low rating (spoiler) was the scene with masturbation. The two main characters are sad and lonely and to illustrate, we have the gratuitous masturbation scene. Yuck. What's wrong with a little allusion? This is the first time I've ever skipped a Sundance Q & A session because I didn't like the movie. Yikes.