This is a very niche psychological drama film that I also chose to watch because I had seen Plata quemada, another film by star Leonardo Sbaraglia. The film tells the story of a middle-aged gay man finding himself in the midst of a chaotic life. The first scene of the film is in a bar where a drunk man's conversation with Santiago sets up the entire thrust of the film, 'I'm not a bad guy. I don't want to be alone, but I'm just looking for true love, I don't know what to do, there's no one waiting for me at home, I'm like a dead man.' The mid-life crisis leaves Santiago, the protagonist, feeling anxious and upset, age, sex life, ex boyfriend, kid, life seems to hit Santiago on all fronts, which makes Santiago start to think, what does he really want?
Two events in the film completely shatter Santiago, the first being when Santiago comes home from a party and finds himself locking his daughter in the house. One of his daughter's lines hurts Santiago even more, 'The only thing you ever did right was to be with Luis (Santiago's ex), and now he's gone too.' The second incident was when Santiago drove to his ex's house one day with his family, yet his ex didn't know. That night, Santiago was stoned and Luis was woken up by an argument and one line that stung Santiago's heart, 'You don't love anyone, you can't even stand yourself! You're pathetic!'
The climax of the whole play comes during the New Year's Eve dinner. The daughter can't stand the escapism and unreliability of her parents, so they all argue with each other at the dinner table under the influence of alcohol. The script actually has some depth by this point, but the pacing doesn't do a good job of building up to that depth; the succession of pain overwhelms Santiago, and the audience wonders at this point when the bubble will sink to the bottom of the ocean. The film ends with Santiago's best friend telling him, 'You can't keep thinking about how it would have been better in the beginning, or what it's going to be like in the future. You have to think about how it is now and live in the moment.' Santiago then dials his daughter's number to say goodbye and speak from the heart... End of the movie.
If middle-aged people cannot control and wrap up their desires well, the result may be like Satiago's life, unable to find the fulcrum of life, because of the inability to live in peace, the kind of life at the same time with scars, loneliness, wandering, confused appearance is really unbearable to look at. If this film can bring what kind of inspiration to middle-aged people, I think it is: songs can be listened to over and over again, films can be enjoyed over and over again, but one's life must not be randomly examined behind, one's usual inertia of life should not be easily denied or changed, because these are the basic structure that supports your existing life.
The director of the film is a newcomer, and I wouldn't have noticed the film if it weren't for the lead actor. The narrative pace of the film is so slow that the audience ends up not wanting to care about what will happen to Santiago at the end. So, if you're not a fan of Leonardo Sbaraglia or psychological drama, I wouldn't recommend it.
