Saturday, July 6, 2019

What's Gone (Lo Que Fue)

This contemplative film from Argentina burrows deep, asking its audience to peer beneath the surface as two 35-year-old ex-fiances reunite in Mexico City. They've been apart for several years now, and although they try to keep things up, the strong gravity of their breakup makes everything feel a bit heavy.

Director Santiago Luchini pays little attention to narrative structure, instead counting on his lead actors Patricia Bermudez and Ricardo Munoz Senior to keep the fire stirred and tell the story through their own inner expressions. Luchini's technical choices add to the effect: a cinematic throughline of gray haze dampens the mood.

Lo Que Fue is a coffee shop cinephile's digestif, with gentle pacing reminiscent of an excursion abroad to a destination where the ebb and flow of life is more relaxed and less outwardly expressed. You can watch the trailer here: What's Gone Trailer