Diecisiete. Daniel Sánchez Arévalo. 2019. ☆☆☆☆☆★
Hey! A Spanish Netflix Original. I have hope!
[30 minutes pass]
I still have hope!
Actually, this is a pretty spiffy film. A lot kinda rests on the face of the seventeen-year-old in question, and he kinda aces it. He veers a bit between petulant and determined, but he keeps the intensity up.
It’s a ridiculously sentimental movie as only the Spanish can make. It’s got everything: Slightly strange teenagers, disappeared dogs, estranged brother, dying grandmothers, all in a road movie setting. No minimalism here.
Did I mention that it’s very funny? It’s very funny. I’m dreading the inevitable “third act” when they have to get all serious and stuff, though.
[time passes]
No! It didn’t happen! They kept it up until the very end! I don’t believe it.
I laughed, I cried: It’s perhaps an overly calculated sentimental movie, but it totally worked for me. Nice performances, good cinematography, sweet and funny story: It all came together.
Tarapara.
This post is part of the NFLX2019 blog series.