Broad Green Pictures | Release Date: July 10, 2015
7.3
USER SCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Ratings
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7
CrimAug 3, 2015
Excellent acting, slow burn, tremendous ending. Could probably rate it higher, but I got restless a few times (most likely my fault, not the movie's, due to my disinterest in the relationship). If there is a movie to watch about long distanceExcellent acting, slow burn, tremendous ending. Could probably rate it higher, but I got restless a few times (most likely my fault, not the movie's, due to my disinterest in the relationship). If there is a movie to watch about long distance in relationships, this could be it.

To start with, this isn't about a relationship that starts on the internet. These are 2 adults who have been together for 7 years and are attempting to have a child when the woman, a photographer, has the opportunity to go to Los Angeles to work on a project for a year. It is a tremendous opportunity for her, and she takes it. After this opening scene, the movie is a series of fragments, with the day indicated via flash card.

The formal aspects are satisfying from the static long shots to webcam view to laptop and phone screens when she shows him her neighborhood via google maps and when she works (relationship temperature via multitasking choices) to facebook and whatsapp and email when she stops responding. It looks like what online communication looks like in real life, and so often movies fail at this. And it is not just their interactions that we see, which is key in the clear way we understand the devolution of their relationship. There is also a tremendous split screen with the same trip in real life and on 3D view in google maps.

Another thing I liked about the movie is how much is not spelled out, yet informs what is happening, and transforms the movie from a "long distance is trying" into a story about these people. For example, about midway, I realized that the context of her leaving was not only a plot element to have her gone. Distance aside, she is busy doing something that fulfills her artistically and professionally (and using her experience with the LDR for some side projects), while he is depressed over failing his teaching exam and living in a rut. Would their story have been different otherwise? She is bilingual, he isn't; she lived in Barcelona with him and can return or not (she, Alexandra Brown, is not Spanish), he can't really follow.

Most admirably, the movie resists being a warning about long distance itself. The biggest hurdle to overcome isn't being separated geographically for a year; it's wrapped into the reason why the separation began, the opportunities half of the couple has, the light this sheds on priorities they previously thought were shared.
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7
EpicLadySpongeMar 10, 2016
It feels normal to at least give effort for this film for at least trying to give us support and love. It's not like 10,000 km will kill you or anything like that.
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6
DawdlingPoetSep 11, 2022
I thought this was really quite dull overall. It's hardly an original story and I got quite bored mid way through. The characters are nice enough but it's pretty predictable and didn't really 'grab' me. I suppose the script is fairly decent,I thought this was really quite dull overall. It's hardly an original story and I got quite bored mid way through. The characters are nice enough but it's pretty predictable and didn't really 'grab' me. I suppose the script is fairly decent, there are some fairly poignant pieces of dialogue, though there are other times when little is said at all and there's not much content there...I guess it could move some people, it is sad to see how things change but I didn't find it exactly surprising or anything. The performances are good but it's pretty slow, plot pace wise. If anything appealed to me about it, I'd say its the technology aspect - relying on the internet, Google street view, photos etc. for her to convey what she's seeing and doing, is interesting. I suppose after the COVID19 lockdowns, people have been forced to rely on technology to stay in touch with others. I didn't mind that part of the story but I wouldn't say this film is primarily about the power or ability of technology to maintain a relationship alone. It's only a part of it, if that makes any sense. It's thoughtful but I think it's a bit too sparse for my liking really. I imagine some may regard it as quietly devastating but I'm not sure I really felt that, personally. I can see what they were getting at though. Overall I wouldn't recommend it as such, no. Expand
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