MOVIE INFO:
Valentina is a pianist preparing for an audition. David is a games inventor who can only concentrate in complete silence. Separated by a paper-thin wall, they strive to live in harmony with each other.
REVIEW:
Love, Divided uses about a foot of separation to create rom-com charm. That’s the distance between the walls of the apartment of man, David (Fernando Guallar as a agoraphobic shut in, a grieving and cranky game designer who values his silence and is willing to make noise to keep it) and the woman, Valentina (the Spanish pop star Aitana playing a redheaded pianist who really at heart wants to be a songwriter and a singer). You see, their walls are thin and everything can be heard. The two meet cute, yelling at each other’s wall, eventually talking, then sympathizing with each other’s losses in life and love- finally, falling in love, which entails meeting each other in the flesh. It’s fun and charming while the wall exists between them. The moment it starts to metaphorically, and literally in the end, to come down, it sags with standard rom-com contrivances
The two’s backstory and motivations are more believable than typical rom-com characters. The newly romantically available Valentina has spent her life meekly following the life paths others want for her. David’s isolation and commitment phobia are rooted in a pass tragedy. Their overcoming their pass allows the whys of their life to coalesce and congeal in each other.
Guallar and Aitana are subtle and convincing in their respective roles. With the right supporting cast effectively acting their characters Love, Divided creates the right balance.
The movie is really a hybrid- a gentle character comedy light on laughs but big on development and a musical with lots of classical compositions but only one showstopper song that exists to prove to Valentina that singing and composing is her true career path. It’s a feel good romance more than anything.
Love, Divided is a near hidden gem, a romantic fantasy that’s broad and appealing, not too heavy on the farce or mistaken identities, and hits just the right notes while the wall is up. It gets a 3.0/5 or B. It’s streaming on Netflix.
CREDITS:
Spanish
Pared con pared
Directed by
Patricia Font
Written by
Marta Sánchez
Based on
by Clovis Cornillac, Tristan Schulmann, Mathieu Oullion, and Lilou Fogli
Starring
- Aitana Ocaña
- Fernando Guallar
Music by
Arnau Bataller
Production
companies
- Tripictures
- Second Gen Pictures
- Blind Date Productions
Distributed by
Release date
- 12 April 2024
Running time
98 min
Country
Spain
Language
Spanish
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