Holiday

The action sequences mostly have tension and punch, even if the movie is old-school long - 2 hours 41 minutes - and the plot doesn't bear too much scrutiny.

Unfortunately, the economically volatile setting of Ecuador at the start of the new millennium doesn't really provide enough substance for this otherwise rather ordinary depiction of infatuation. It all centres around "Juan Pablo" (Juan Arregui) being sent to live with his aunt and uncle after his father lost the savings of hundreds of his local community. One night, he encounters the young "Juano" (Diego Andrés Paredes) getting a severe beating in the woods. He manages to help rescue him and after a while, the two become friends and... At this point it loses it's way. The rite-of-passage stuff we have seen hundreds of time before, and neither actor here really seem to have much skin in the game. It's well shot, some lovely photography, but the audio needs boosting and the story just lacks for originality. The potential to explore more the characterisations and/or the political situation is largely ignored and the whole thing is pretty undercooked.

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