SWEET AND TENDER PORTRAIT OF UNPRETENTIONAL BIRTHDAY LOVE
Nowadays we are so accustomed to an endless number of films (whether from Hollywood or not) that are so mediocre in art itself, that when you see a capsule like this, there is something you don't quite understand: Why the structure of the short film is so simple, sweet (without being cloying, extra points for that) that it is like a balm that you weren't looking for but needed. And that is its great strength.
We have a story of first-time love between boys, it is not a new recipe, in fact, it is a plot that is over-exploited in the independent world scene but here they knew how to give it shape, style and its own personality, without pretensions, without exaggerations and without unnecessary shocks (but that many would like).
For a university project by its director, its actors and its team, it is masterful, sublime and very well done. If you don't realize this fact, it's okay. It's so well made that it seems professional. Of course, there are things that aren't good because of the nature of the context of the film itself, such as its length. Stories made with delicacy and care make you uncomfortable with its 12 minutes, but its direction/production/acting minimize this fact. Even the performances (excuse the redundancy) of its natural actors are so genuine (especially that of Alexander Espinosa-Luna, Eric in the short) that it seems like they are actors with a long career... or that this wasn't their first professional performance in the cinema itself. There are even details of Espinoza-Luna that make your eyes pop. Things that only actors who live their character (and to a certain extent identify with it) tend to do. And that is difficult to achieve today, where cinema in general has forgotten what its essence really is: that of well-done acting, without the desire for recognition or awards. And here they managed to achieve a lot, with little. A rare feat to achieve but not impossible for anyone.
The title of my review is taken from the song "Yo Puedo Vivir Del Amor" by Rubén Blades and Willie Colón.
