45/23
After 15 years as a couple, Ale and Alex decide to celebrate their separation with a party, leaving their loved ones perplexed. French visa no. 161493 issued on 07/16/2024. References The True Truth (1937). VolveréisWritten by Ana Valladares, Guillermo Briales, Iman AmarPerformed by Adiós Amores. ‘Volveréis’ is a very original film whose characters do not want to make a fuss about their separation and therefore decide to go the other way by organizing a cheerful divorce party on the first day of autumn. The film offers a revolutionary view of the couple, turning the customs, habits and stereotypes of a separation on their head by showing a modern, peaceful and conflict-free relationship between two middle-aged people who are simply looking for happiness. It is a film about uncertainty, about being a couple again after 15 years of being together, about the midlife crisis and the doubts it brings. The film also offers different thoughts on many topics such as love, friendship and family relationships. A complex way of thinking summed up in a simple sentence: “Volveréis” like a statement: “You will definitely get back together” OR the same sentence but with a question mark: “Volveréis? Like “Will you end up back together?” .Two appreciations of a reality. Just like the verb “volver” which has two meanings: to turn (a page, a leaf) or to return (to go back). There are many references to Bergman, to Truffaut, but also allusions to the director’s father (Fernando Trueba, a well-known director himself), who happens to be a key character in this film, since he is the one who had the original idea of celebrating a breakup! In a way, Ferando Trueba is the father of the constantly controversial idea that led his son (Jonas) to make a film. For me, this film is very touching because it is not only very personal, as we have just seen, but also very sincere. Very sincere in its way of addressing the midlife crisis and the couple crisis, or in the way Jonàs Trueba shares his own doubts throughout the film. There is something like a cycle of repetition, the cycle of life, or a vicious circle, so to speak, and somehow, as the film progresses, we begin to doubt whether it is a good idea or not, whether the editing will reveal to and that it is ultimately a fiction. Jonàs Trueba plays with us, as much as he is sincere. For example, it seems like the director is sharing his own doubts about the editing and relevance of his film (the film we, the audience, are watching!) with us by sharing the main characters’ doubts about their fate as a couple or as individuals through the editing of THEIR film, which they both want to finish… just like their relationship, which is coming to an end! This film is special because it’s funny. It’s a hymn to dialogue, love and respect. The main characters hardly argue or discuss. The approach to the couple is very modern and very free of conflict. The two just sincerely share their thoughts. They somehow love each other at every turn, despite the doubts that lurk everywhere, in a look, a word or an attitude. When asked: Are you happy? one answers yes, the other no, but both seem to regret their answer immediately after they have uttered it. This melancholic tone fits the turning point in their lives, what they are going through, because they have to turn over a new leaf, start a new chapter, start a new season, just like this rather sad, uncertain and ending summer in Madrid. Little by little, and thanks to the characters’ personal journey, we understand that life is like the editing of a film and everything can be turned upside down: the beginning can become the end, an apparent end could mean a new beginning and, with one’s own decision, it can be the other way round. A beautiful, funny film with lots of winks. I recommend it!