Medianeras

Medianeras, directed and written by Gustavo Taretto, is an Argentine romantic dramedy that explores loneliness, disconnection, and urban life in Buenos Aires. Through the parallel stories of Martín (Javier Drolas) and Mariana (Pilar López de Ayala), the film reflects on the search for love and human connection in an environment that, paradoxically, seems designed to make them harder to find.

One of the film's central themes is loneliness in the metropolis, where high population density contrasts with emotional disconnection. Martín and Mariana live in nearby buildings but have never met, illustrating how architecture, technology, and the fast-paced nature of the city contribute to isolation. The dependence on technology for communication is a recurring theme: Martín is immersed in a virtual world, highlighting how modern technology can serve as both a bridge and a barrier in personal relationships.

The film makes poetic use of Buenos Aires' architecture, not just as a setting but as another character. The city's symmetry and verticality are reflected in the visual style, with shots that play with the asymmetry of the protagonists' lives. Images of windows, crowded streets, and structures that separate rather than unite symbolize the physical and emotional barriers that prevent human connection. Additionally, the soft color palette and carefully composed cinematography enhance the film's melancholic yet beautiful aesthetic.

Taretto also raises important questions about how modern architecture and technology impact our lives and relationships. The use of voiceover to comment on these themes is well-executed, offering an intimate and poetic reflection that complements the visual storytelling.

Ultimately, Medianeras is a film that sensitively and humorously captures contemporary loneliness, exploring the longing for connection in an increasingly fragmented world.

Martín and Mariana are slightly damaged people who live in buildings just opposite one another. Both are afraid of the outside world. While they often don't notice each other, separation might be the very thing that brings them together.

The film opens with a Manhattan-like montage showing the many buildings in Buenos Aires, a monologue from Martín (played by Javier Drolas) describes how architecture is the ultimate human expression and a mirror-accurate reflection of how we are – disorganized, contradictory, chaotic and disconnected. Martín states that his entire life is in his apartment: he works, sleeps, eats, has sex (with himself) and entertains himself there. He blames architects because they have designed the outlines of his life. Modernity has made our homes so comfortable that being outside and interacting with other people now seem daunting.

The characters are quirky but realistic. We are presented with their inner monologues along with animations visualizing their inner thoughts. It is never quirky for the sake of being quirky. Let's just say if Zoe Deschanel suddenly manifested in this movie, she would have been quietly escorted out by Latino security guards. No seriously, Martín and Mariana's quirks come from a real damaged place of hurt, heartbreak and a loss of faith in people. Something that felt really real for me was how Mariana likes to lean on a specific spot in her apartment -a wall besides the 5-step walkway up to her bedroom area. It does not look particularly comfortable or anything special, but she leans there and uses it like a place of safety. That hit me on a personal level.

Sidewalls provides a precise portrayal of isolation and loneliness and underneath asks some challenging questions. Why is all this interconnectivity setting us apart? How can someone feel alone on a subway full of people? Is love the answer? It might be the answer, but it's goddamn hard to find amidst all this interconnectivity. Suffice to say, Martín and Mariana do get to meet potential lovers and it is interesting to see how they play out and how it affects the two protagonists. There are many whimsical moments and I smiled through most of the film. It gets a bit dark at times too. Mariana purchases a mannequin and interacts with it in all sorts of ways and I hoped that her condition wouldn't worsen into anything darker. For that, I think actress Pilar López de Ayala has the meatier role. After this film, I think I have a new crush.

I liked what the film had to say about urban loneliness. I liked and cared for these characters and wanted to see them together. It's a nice charming gem of a love story. I would have wanted to see more interaction between the two characters, but maybe that's a good thing. It left me wanting more.

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A Spanish 500 Days of Summer mixed with a more urban and up to date You've Got Mail. I liked this film a lot. I watched on a whim, this being the first movie I've actually watched fully subtitled and I've got to say, personally it made the experience of the movie that much more enjoyable.(I think it added a feeling of being connected, seeing that there are people out there from a different culture feeling and hurting and living just like me) Now even though dialogue is primarily in Spanish, English songs are used and this also brought an even more familiar tone to the movie as a whole. I connected with both the main characters in the film. Their feelings of loneliness on the inside, yet, still going on with their day to day all while being mixed with their phobias, longings, quarks, and vulnerabilities. This movie works, it works on every cylinder. Beautifully shot and beautifully written.. Watching this will not be a waste of your time.

Two young adults live lonely, isolated existences in modern Buenos Aires and repeatedly fail to meet each other despite living on either sides of a street.

Javier Drolas is a web designer living in a cluttered, one room apartment. He doesn't like to go outside and only does for his therapy appointments and to walk the dog his American girlfriend left with him when she returned home for a visit and never came back. He has a brief sexual relationship with a young, emo dog walker, but it's not very satisfying.

Pilar López de Ayala is a young architect working as a window dresser. She has a series of unsatisfying relationships and is happier relating to the mannequins she keeps in her apartment.

The film teases several meetings between these two, but along the way, muses on life in modern Buenos Aires, a city that has grown so fast that it's a mishmash of haphazard architectural styles and most people live in tiny apartments in giant high rises. The growth of online relationships and slow death of personal, physical ones is killing the romantic lives of young people like our protagonists.

It's a very slight, but quite engaging film. You never doubt that a film with this light a tone will end with these two meeting, but it's a pleasant journey. Gustavo Taretto telescopes his indebtedness to Woody Allen by having our protagonists both watching the climax of "Manhattan". This film is more like "Annie Hall" with a steady narration by both leads and a blend of many styles ... animation, on screen graphics and many other gimmicks are dropped in.

Its maybe strange to title the comment on this way, but this beautiful movie made me exactly that impression. Watching this movie from second grade European country was enlightening thing to do. It show me that on a different continent on different hemisphere on planet Earth, but in a same time, people live with a very same problems as I and my countryman do. Everyone become more and more isolated, people get estranged, while we more and more zip ourselves in our concrete beehives. And a exit from that darkness is simple. We need more light. Not of those artificial but those natural, God given, Sun light. There was a lot symbolic in act of braking a hole in a wall in one movie segment. Best recommendations.