Realistic, and therefore rather boring story about young a couple trying to live in a place where jobs are scarce. It's not a depiction of desperate poverty, but rather of progressive frustration as their transition into working class adulthood is indefinitely postponed. They live with their single mothers, they hang out with friends, they text, they wait. But life must go on. The narrative is enlivened a bit with simulated cellphone screencasts and pictures to document jumps forward through time. While something of a gimmick, it indeed fits with a naturalistic portrayal of modern life. And of course we can be grateful to Jonsson for taking her clothes off to make money, though the porn work is only briefly portrayed. But, alas, the movie doesn't have a clear solution, whether it is was worth watching depends on your sympathy with the characters.
2 Reviews
Downbeat as well as thoughtful film about a young Spanish couple with a baby seeks to survive
ma-cortes10 August 2015
A nice couple fights for survive the current economic crisis hitting in Spain of the 2000s . It shows us men and women seeking to make choices when confronted with problems and misfortune . Spain has been experiencing particularly hard times and those difficulties and mishaps have appeared here and there in movie, in some instances more bluntly than others . Natalia (Ingrid García Jonsson) and Carlos (Carlos Rodríguez) both aged 20, are in love and struggling to survive in today's Spain . They are a young couple in love . She's dropped out of High School and spends her days at home , hanging out with friends and occasionally shop lifting make-up while Carlos works bad-paid jobs and conspires with his friend to open his own business . They have no great ambitions because they have no great hopes . To earn some money, they decide to shoot an amateur porno film . The birth of their daughter Julia is the main catalyst for the changes they make .
This documentary-style fiction in the technology age about the difficulties of being young amid a recession , as it develops an insightful and stirring portrait of an affectionate couple , as their limited resources prevent them from getting ahead as they'd like , confronting situations that undermine their personal dignity . This is a well-crafted and strikingly intimate film though monotonous about a lower class couple . Later on , when she sets out to work out of Spain , in Germany , they have to communicate themselves in a long distance , as when you are countries apart in love , you have to find creative ways to connect . We immediately see that the story is going to be told from some unorthodox perspectives as many scenes are broadcasting through a cellular . On a few occasions, Rosales uses technology in an interesting and new way to mark the passage of time and showing the changing relationship between Natalia and Carlos and though I appreciate the approach here , I hope it doesn't become a regular thing in features . As it relies heavily on a particular relationship supported by technological means such as phone message , e-mail , Google Earth , Skype , Facebook and WhatsApp . Watching the protagonists grow and mature over the course of a few short years is a marvelous reminder of how the happenings of our lives shape the people we become, even if the changes aren't immediately apparent . Despite its low budget the picture manages to be intelligent , but also a little bit boring and hard to follow . The good thing about this film is that the director made it on a limited budget only having to do a few sets , yet the movie works on many levels but is constantly reconfigured . Other questions to deal this film result to be : Just how interconnected can one couple be while living countries apart ? . The final result is an offbeat story that's captivating , in spite of not being all that fun . Interpretation by two actors is frankly good , Ingrid Garcia and Carlos Rodríguez are pretty well as this peculiar and beloved couple .
This microscopic look at the hardships faced by a young couple in Spain was innovative and originally directed Jaime Rosales who was born in Barcelona, Catalonia , Spain . Here Rosales adapts to the times and find a particular romance in the ways people are living today and without musical score . Rosales takes a Verite approach to ¨Beautiful Youth¨ which gives the movie an added layer of reality and he uses technology in an interesting and new way to mark the passage of time and showing the changing relationship . Jaime Rosales is a good director , writer and producer, known for La Soledad (2007), Las Horas del Día (2003) and Hermosa Juventud (2014) . ¨Beautiful youth¨ won Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and Special Mention in Cannes Film and Nominated Un Certain Regard Award ; Festival Turia Awards 2015 Won Turia Award Best New Actress ; Toulouse Cinespaña 2014 Won Best Actress Ingrid García Jonsson ; Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain Nominated Best New Actress ; CEC Award Best New Actor and best new actress : Carlos Rodríguez ; Gaudí Award Best Film not in the Catalan Language and Nominated Goya Best New Actress : Ingrid García Jonsson .
This documentary-style fiction in the technology age about the difficulties of being young amid a recession , as it develops an insightful and stirring portrait of an affectionate couple , as their limited resources prevent them from getting ahead as they'd like , confronting situations that undermine their personal dignity . This is a well-crafted and strikingly intimate film though monotonous about a lower class couple . Later on , when she sets out to work out of Spain , in Germany , they have to communicate themselves in a long distance , as when you are countries apart in love , you have to find creative ways to connect . We immediately see that the story is going to be told from some unorthodox perspectives as many scenes are broadcasting through a cellular . On a few occasions, Rosales uses technology in an interesting and new way to mark the passage of time and showing the changing relationship between Natalia and Carlos and though I appreciate the approach here , I hope it doesn't become a regular thing in features . As it relies heavily on a particular relationship supported by technological means such as phone message , e-mail , Google Earth , Skype , Facebook and WhatsApp . Watching the protagonists grow and mature over the course of a few short years is a marvelous reminder of how the happenings of our lives shape the people we become, even if the changes aren't immediately apparent . Despite its low budget the picture manages to be intelligent , but also a little bit boring and hard to follow . The good thing about this film is that the director made it on a limited budget only having to do a few sets , yet the movie works on many levels but is constantly reconfigured . Other questions to deal this film result to be : Just how interconnected can one couple be while living countries apart ? . The final result is an offbeat story that's captivating , in spite of not being all that fun . Interpretation by two actors is frankly good , Ingrid Garcia and Carlos Rodríguez are pretty well as this peculiar and beloved couple .
This microscopic look at the hardships faced by a young couple in Spain was innovative and originally directed Jaime Rosales who was born in Barcelona, Catalonia , Spain . Here Rosales adapts to the times and find a particular romance in the ways people are living today and without musical score . Rosales takes a Verite approach to ¨Beautiful Youth¨ which gives the movie an added layer of reality and he uses technology in an interesting and new way to mark the passage of time and showing the changing relationship . Jaime Rosales is a good director , writer and producer, known for La Soledad (2007), Las Horas del Día (2003) and Hermosa Juventud (2014) . ¨Beautiful youth¨ won Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and Special Mention in Cannes Film and Nominated Un Certain Regard Award ; Festival Turia Awards 2015 Won Turia Award Best New Actress ; Toulouse Cinespaña 2014 Won Best Actress Ingrid García Jonsson ; Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain Nominated Best New Actress ; CEC Award Best New Actor and best new actress : Carlos Rodríguez ; Gaudí Award Best Film not in the Catalan Language and Nominated Goya Best New Actress : Ingrid García Jonsson .
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