What it’s about
On an isolated stretch of coastline in Veracruz, Mexico, 17 year old Sebastian (Ferrer) takes over the running of his uncle’s rent-by-the-hour motel. In between stripping beds and cleaning rooms, he observes the comings and goings of the clientele. He is particularly interested in Miranda (Paz), an attractive woman who comes to the motel for illicit trysts with her married boyfriend. But her lover is unreliable, and Miranda has time to spend getting to know Sebastian.
Why we love it
Fernandez’s sophomore film unfolds like a leisurely summer’s day as Sebastian learns about life and love. The setting, a functional but run-down motel with cornflower blue peeling paint, provides the boy with a degree of independence and time for reflection. Ferrer’s youthful features express both adolescent longing and a more mature desire for connection. Simply told, and romantically photographed (by Javier Moron), this delicate love story rises above the conventions of its plot to achieve a poetic lyricism. I’d check in if I were you!