Nove de Novembro (Galician) [That Night Of November]

This film set in 80s was actually made in 2018. In tone, it seems very theatrical, given that the entire 90-ish minute film happens in one tiny room apartment, with only just the two lead characters playing their part during the different stages of their almost a decade long relationship.

Roberto and Miguel have been together for over 10 years. Over the course of 4 days in November, the talk and discuss and reminiscence the memories of all these years remembering some specific incidents. These include how they met and when, when they started living together, when Miguel was thrown out of home for coming out as gay, when they both struggled for their jobs and the political unrest around the Berlin Wall. A seemingly strong relationship will start to crumble with each new memory. The memories are not shown all at once and the film keeps moving back and forth in a very non-linear time format, peeling layers only one by one. We are also told, how they fight, bicker, talk about almost anything to keep busy, but somewhere around them, the Two Berlins is also a point of contention. They have shared resentments for life or even for each other and just like the wall that came down in November, maybe the wall separating this couple will also crumble.

The concept of the film is interesting but the whole movie is talk talk talk and  I found the repetitions just a little exhausting and tiresome. The film is in Galician language (which I have to admit, I wasn't even aware of as a language in Spain). The entire movie is about this gay couple who understandably argue about many things which is bound to happen, when you are running out of your savings, you don't have a job and you spend most of your time cooped up in your tiny apartment. The acting by. Both the leading men is actually quite good and the film portrays oppression extremely well, and it really does eat at the heart and the soul. But I still struggled to understand what was the whole point behind the film really. Sure they are poor, they seek independence, and more from life, but as an audience, I wanna know where is this all heading towards and I couldn't get that clarification or even a satisfactory ending. For me, it got emotionally exhausting, with everything thrown in your face about the couple by way of flashbacks and memories and no seemingly ending. Not sure we need the drag act as part of their initial meeting or one of them getting positive. I would like to think, most people would struggle to enjoy the film. (4/10)