Review by ma-cortes

A bittersweet romantic comedy set in the midst of the COVID-19 lockdown, about the long-distance relationships of a budding writer trapped in a closed hotel. In the mind of Juan (Eduardo Ferrés) , an unemployed writer, it seemed like a good idea: working as a guard at the Hotel Balneario de Ariño, (actually located in El Balneario de Ariño, Teruel, Aragón) , the same old mining area where he is setting his novel, his dream historical bestseller with which to finally debut. But, suddenly, the world stops, the pandemic appears, the whole of Spain goes into quarantine and what was going to be a simple fifteen-day job becomes a confinement of the new normality. As Juan, stuck and deranged, will experience his quarantine with calls from his mother (Sonia Almarcha) and video calls from his domineering girlfriend, whom he is about to marry. Also those of his conspiracy expert roommate and those of Juan Manuel de Prada himself, his tutor in a creative writing course. He will only associate with Evaristo (Emilio Buale) , the most cheeky mechanic and stoner in Aragon, with Antonio (Rubén Hernandez) , the strong arm of the Law, and with the elusive and beautiful Alicia, in charge of bringing him groceries from the supermarket.

This comedic feature film has many allusions to literature, from which it tries to extract agile jokes. The Spanish parallelism with 'El Resplandor' or 'The shining' is clear, in fact, that is mentioned on multiple occasions, becoming a running gag. But the film is aware that we are in an era in which youtubers compete with best-sellers writers as Juan Manuel de Prada or Arturo Pérez-Reverte , in the top sales of bookstores and of course there is no terror, thriller or drama, only rarely poignant satire.

And issues that are on everyone's lips also come to light. The posturing when applauding the toilets, the stinking treatment of those who live in Madrid, the difficulty in maintaining social distance , and including brief nudism. Black and goofy comedy is very present but no lack of respect and disrespect is perceived that the film has a certain degree of daring. I am not only referring to the allusion to the always present Stephen King , but to being able to treat a situation that has us on our nerves in a way that borders on the funny. Stars the unknown Eduardo Ferrés giving a sympathetic acting as as the stuck and deranged, Juan will experience his quarantine while falling in love with the sexy Alicia in charge of bringing him groceries from the Mall .

The motion picture was regular and originally directed by Norberto Ramos del Val . Ramos del Val does not seek to trivialize or, on the contrary, demand anything, the film simply manages to relax the atmosphere. Norberto is a craftsman who has written/produced/directed various films, shorts , documentary in low budget , such as : Atando el tiempo (20222) , Lucero (2019) , Call TV (2017) , El cielo en el infierno (2016), Amor tóxico (2015), Faraday (2013), Pepón es guay (2013) , Summertime (2012), Obi (2011), El último fin de semana (2011) . And ¡Ni te me acerques ! (2020) rating : 5/10 .