By Chris Kriofske
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Lucio Castro
Starring: Juan Barberini | Mia Maestro | Ramon Pujol
Country: argentina
Year: 2019
Running time: 84
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9845398/reference
Chris says: “Lucio Castro’s first feature kicks off with ten-to-fifteen dialogue-free minutes; it may well put some viewers to sleep (like the man sitting behind me in the theater, barely two minutes in!), but as I adjusted to its unusual wavelength, I found it more sublime than not, the mostly static camera gazing upon Ocho (Juan Barberini), an Argentinian on vacation in Barcelona, as he weaves in and out of its unfamiliar streets and shoreline.
“Once Ocho finally talks to Javi (Ramon Pujol), whom he’s been quietly stalking-not-stalking ever since first seeing him walk underneath his rented balcony, the film becomes what you’d want to a call a love story if that term didn’t feel so reductive. As the rest of the film unfolds in non-chronological order, it depicts a relationship but also delves into themes of sexual coming-of-age, deciding whether or not to act on a feeling and, as the title spells out, a little pre-Millennium tension. The film ‘s bold narrative shifts are as startling and exciting as they’re meant to be, but only because of the foundation laid out by that silent preamble and the conversations that follow.
“I don’t want to reveal anything more about END OF THE CENTURY except that I left it in a slight, pleasant daze, like I had seen a mashup of a transcendent art film and a deeply felt character study. I want to see it again. 4.5 cats