This one's a beautiful, tender, quiet romantic drama with a moody atmosphere, set in a tight knit Welsh fishing community. It's a touching story about a man waking up sexually in the middle of his life, and how he, his family, and everyone around him deal with it, which makes it emotional and sentimental without ever getting over the top. The slow burn plays out against a landscape that's as bleak as it is gorgeous, where quiet, closed off men are stuck inside rigid ideas of what masculinity should be. Some people might be reminded of "God's Own Country," but I think both films are lovely in their own way. Jack is a middle aged guy who co-owns a mussel farm with his rough around the edges brother Dyfan, and the tension between the two of them is simmering under the surface right from the start. Dyfan's three sons all help out with the work, while Jack's sulky teenage son Tom keeps skipping out. Jack's been with his wife since they were both 16, and...
Ale is a transvestite who collects garbage and cardboards in the streets. She lives with fellow outcasts outside town with other people who have been shunned by their family or society for various reasons. They all have found peace with each other. But their existence is in danger when some builder wants to occupy the land that they have built their houses on. One day Ale gets her hands on a diary written by Mia, a woman who dies and has left the diary for her daughter Julia. She watches Julia, who is now a very angry child after her mother's death and her father Manuel. After few days of reading the diary, she feels a connect with Mia and infact starts imagining herself as Mia. Pretty soon, she enters their life and Julia gets an instant liking for her and eventually Manuel also gives in and hires Ale to take care of Julia. Ale's dreams start to come true by her getting acceptance from a normal social family including going for dinner outings. But this is not supposed to last long. Manuel has plans of eventually moving out south to his mother's place. A dark truth that Ale eventually accepts but by the time she reaches back her home, it is also destroyed. In an instant Ale loses everything that she thought she is starting to get acceptance from society for.
As mentioned above, the film has very honest intentions, but the problem is that it never connects with the audience. Some of the scenes seems stretched and I found myself struggling to keep my attention on the film. Ale's aspirations never really touched my heart and connected with me. I liked how Julia respects Ale and so does Manuel but never really it reaches a position where it makes a huge connect with people. I feel had more focus was given to transsexuals and their struggles as social outcasts; it would have made a lot more impact. I liked the film but it never engaged me completely. Actress playing Ale is pretty good but something is missing. She is too timid and slightly uninteresting. Manuel does a great job of a drunk father and so is Julia. I personally enjoyed the character of the gay man who has lost his lover of many years and is now with Ale. The makers tried to balance social issues with a family story.
The film plays safe and hence it never reaches the peak that it could have. It could have been better but ends up being an average film. (5/10)
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