Director Lila Avilés follows an intense day in the life of a tight-knit family in Mexico.
Much like any 7-year-old child, Sol (Naíma Sentíes) is a delight to watch.
She enjoys an intimate relationship with her loving mother (Montserrat Marañón) and enjoys the company of her extended family: aunts and uncles and cousins and grandfather and close friends, too. On this day, everyone is bustling about a house that is filled completely with love and affection.
Everyone is busy making preparations for a grand, festive occasion that evening. But where is Sol’s father (Mateo Garcia)? He is resting, Sol is told, and then she is told to visit with her cousins or play in the backyard.
Beneath the high spirits, however, are lower spirits among family members and friends, and Sol catches wind of them, without knowing exactly what is going on. She is, after all, a child, but children usually know far more than older people suspect.
With her sophomore feature, writer/director Lila Avilés crafts a tender story that is quickly absorbing and entirely engaging. It’s a story that every family has experienced, to one degree or another, even if your family is smaller in number than the one depicted here.
The film is resolutely cheerful, even in view of the deep emotional wounds and worrisome financial burdens that are glimpsed by Sol as she makes her rounds throughout the house, darting from one person to another, sliding from one grouping into another, and sometimes seeking solitude. She is surrounded by blankets of love and affection, but there are still unexpected rocks beneath her feet and big boulders dead ahead.
Sol will not be able to avoid entirely the truck that is speeding toward her on the highway of life, but, even at her young age, she appears to have the strength to survive, to deal with the many challenges that life presents. This day will be a happy, pleasant memory, an assurance that her family loves her.
It’s hard to ask for much more than that, and director Lila Avilés creates an environment in which to flourish, and a movie to cherish.
The film opens Friday, February 9 at the Angelika Film Center in Dallas. For more information about the film, visit the official site.
Dallas Film Now. 