Newness

I almost made the mistake of switching the movie off 15 minutes in. Thankfully I didn't. Laia Costa in a very emotional scene captivated me as she did for the whole movie and the story finally really began. Even though we get obvious unsubtle punches against facebook and tinder it is not really about these technologies because they are just that. They don't force us to do anything. It is about generation "swipe left if you are bored". It is about running away from conflict thus running away from real relationships. Relationships are messy. They always have been always will be. But what makes them deep the work you put in. The best quote of the movie nails it: "love is two people not giving up on each other" as I didn't give up on this movie 15 minutes in being rewarded at the end.

This film tells the story of a man and a woman, who use dating apps to meet others for fun with no strings attached.

That's the first ten minutes of the plot anyway. It appears that they constantly want newness in their love and sex lives. Yet, the story soon develops to another direction. It is clear that one of them is stuck in the past, while the other wants something but would not admit it. It is a brilliant portrayal of modern relationships. It even explores honesty to self and others. In addition, the lighting and the sets are consistently remarkable. Though the film is a little slow at times, it is still worth a watch.

For a movie that has relationship written all over it in the "modern era" (that is with cell phones and apps to find "love"), this really could be called a modern day love story. So while you could compare it to "Love", this is not as explicit as that (though you will have some nudiy in this too), but gets more involved into the characters.

One set up shows closeness physically, but characters being as far apart as possible. It could have gone wrong, too cliche, but the symbolism of it really hits home (no pun intended). The movie generally has quite a few themes, with "newness" being one of them. The pleasure one has to enjoy that. But even with one character living in the past, the connection to "new" is still there. The other character may not want anything newer, but that plays into the theme too. Especially when things get mixed up.

The movie tries to analyze a bit and give us a look into the psyche, but it not a psychological study. You can read a couple of things into it, but it does try to stay in the drama department and the general flow of the movie. Good themes, good acting and a good script about a ... new sort of love story

There are many montages in this movie to move things along, all with soothing piano music that therefore must be touching and sweet, but in actuality, these characters are so one dimensional, selfish, and unlikeable that you end up not caring if they end up together. I get that it's trying to be a look at millennial dating, but there's literally nothing beyond the "sex" level here. No interesting conversations, no intelligent dialogue, nothing beyond just sex. I would say it was a let down, but I had no expectations, so it was ok-ish.

This film isn't for everybody. If you are a millennial, or maybe older but open minded, or if you are just empathic enough, you will understand the feelings this film aims to pass. It's not about the characters promiscuity or dating apps relationships, it's about doubt and excitement and fear of loosing freedom, and that moment when you meet someone new and you are talking, flirting, it's very exciting, you are having a really good time and THEN if you decide to take one step forward, you have to face the baggage that person carries. Past, exes, fears, traumas.

That's something the older generations don't get, because back in time people used to date less and get married sooner. But for millennials, that's very relatable. People have dated other people, some times many other people. People have had sex with other people too. People have met other people's families - I could go on but you all already got it - and we have to deal with it. So that's why not everybody will understand.

I'm young and getting married soon. The story made me think a lot. I'm very sure of my decision on spending the rest of my life with my partner. Even knowing it's going to get boring eventually. Then we will figure it out. I'd never do what the characters do because I have different principles, but I totally understand their feelings.

Now, going back to the film. The actors were convincing. The way it was filmed was also particular. The camera wasn't steady, maybe purposefully to make it look like the videos we're used to see in social medias. Again, very close to younger generations. And about the end, I saw some people saying they don't like it, but this movie isn't about the end, it's about what they went through to get there. I wouldn't change a thing.

In my opinion, 6.4 doesn't do justice to this film, but, again, I can imagine people with different visions about life and relationships watching it and not getting it.