- Directed by Gonzalo Calzeda
- Written by Gonzalo Calzeda
- Stars Pepe Soriano, Marilu Marini, Lautaro Delgado
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 47 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtnYhhGoUeo
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
At first it seems like we’re just going to watch a confused old man wander around, struggling with a grasp on reality. The longer you watch, you realize it’s so much deeper than that. It’s frightening, poignant, horrifying, heart wrenching, and joyful. Sometimes all at the same time. Beautifully filmed and superbly acted.
Synopsis
Children run through the bright, foggy woods; it looks like a fun time. Young Ulises has his eye on young Dalia. We flash forward to old Ulises, nearing ninety years old. He calls for Dalia, who isn’t there anymore. He seems confused. Daniel, the superintendent, asks if he’s OK, and Ulises admits he got lost. His heart thumps painfully from time to time. There is mention of some burglaries in the building.
He goes back to his apartment and gets yelled at by Dalia, who says they haven’t had any food in the place in two days. She seems fairly paranoid that the people who run the place want to evict them, but he doesn’t think that’s true.
He goes from room to room, forgetting exactly what he’s doing. The two go to bed, but Ulises complains that his chest hurts. He wakes up later that night hearing things. He sees flashes of someone in the courtyard.
Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door; a woman out there screams that she needs help. Ulises and Dalia are afraid to open the door. She’s Elena, the neighbor from upstairs. Dalia says it’s a trap.
Next, Daniel comes knocking on the door. He says the neighbor, Elena, fell out the upstairs window, and the firemen need to go through his apartment to get to the courtyard. They go out back and find Elena’s body. Ulises tells Daniel about Elena coming to his door; he’s sure that she committed suicide.
Their son, Carlos calls. Daniel called him and told him what happened. Carlos wants him to go to a retirement home, but Ulises refuses to consider it. Carlos says he’s coming in the morning.
A few minutes later, the whole thing happens again with Elena coming to the door, although this time through, it’s a bit more violent. He calls Daniel, who explains that it all happened a couple of hours ago, and it’ll all be clear again in the morning.
Ulises tells Dalia that if it happens again, he’s going to help Elena. Their estranged daughter needed help too; there’s something bad between Dalia and their daughter. She got pregnant and Dalia hated the embarrassment. They disowned her, something Ulises still regrets. He wants to call her and apologize; Dalia says he’s had his whole life to do that.
Ulises calls his daughter, but finds he can’t remember her name. He suddenly forgets what he was doing. They fight, physically, and Dalia is injured. He tries to call for help, but can’t make the phone work. Ulises goes looking for help and winds up upstairs in Elena’s apartment where he finds photos of himself. He has a long conversation with Elena. He then watches her jump out the window to her death. He turns around and Elena is still there.
She goes downstairs and beats on his apartment door, and he follows her. She goes positively weird on him.
Finally, he opens the door and lets Elena inside. He helps her to move on. Then he sees his own mother and asks her what he did wrong. In the morning, he calls his daughter and apologizes. Finally, Carlos and Daniel come for Ulises, but it’s too late. He’s back in the foggy woods where we saw him in the beginning, both he and Dalia young again…
Commentary
The real question is how much of this is supernatural and how much is Ulises dementia?
A few weeks ago, we slammed “The Amusement Park” for how terrible it treated the topic of aging. THIS is how you show how terrifying it is to get old; not through silly metaphors, but by actually showing us old people just being old. And remembering being young.
Almost from her first scene, we wondered if old Dalia was real or a ghost, of either the real or imagined kind. Just about the time we figure out what the deal is with Dalia, then we have to deal with Elena.
I would classify this as a dramatic mystery with some horrific elements. If you’re looking for a stalker, serial killer, or monster, you won’t find it here, but it really is excellent. Pepe Soriano as old Ulises is awesome – just frail enough for pity, but still sympathetic in his old age.