Feriado. Erste Liebe

Original title of this film is 'Feriado' and it is set in the turbulent financial times around the millennium. Juan Pablo is sent to stay with his Aunt and Uncle as his father has let his bank crash and with it the fortunes of thousands of its investors. High up in the Andes he can be kept out of harm's way for the summer. But his cousins are the boisterous sort and he ends up befriending a young local lad called Juano – who should be his total opposite.

What started out as an act of kindness soon takes on more meaning for the poetry loving, loner Juan Pablo. This blossoming of his true feelings will lead him on the coming of age tale that is really central to this film.

Now this is not a bad film, the plot has been done more than a few times so not going to score high on originality. The acting is all very good and the story itself is quite compelling to begin with. However, it sort of runs out of steam at the two thirds way through point and it never manages to get it back. It is one of those that is worth a watch once but you will not be raving about this to your friends as it really is average. If you really want to see this then this is a definite renter and, sadly, not a keeper.

Unfortunately, the economically volatile setting of Ecuador at the start of the new millennium doesn't really provide enough substance for this otherwise rather ordinary depiction of infatuation. It all centres around "Juan Pablo" (Juan Arregui) being sent to live with his aunt and uncle after his father lost the savings of hundreds of his local community. One night, he encounters the young "Juano" (Diego Andrés Paredes) getting a severe beating in the woods. He manages to help rescue him and after a while, the two become friends and... At this point it loses it's way. The rite-of-passage stuff we have seen hundreds of time before, and neither actor here really seem to have much skin in the game. It's well shot, some lovely photography, but the audio needs boosting and the story just lacks for originality. The potential to explore more the characterisations and/or the political situation is largely ignored and the whole thing is pretty undercooked.