Back Again (2015) User Reviews

a state

[Kirpianuscus · 5 October 2017]

a meet. after long time. rain. memories. fragments of past in an empty house. and the new. changing everything. one of the minimalist short films about a state. who could be defined as friendship, ball of illusions and regrets. or, only, as escape from yourself. the last scene is great. maybe memorable. because it is a scene about the viewer. the savage joy. in the skin of fireworks. and the new beginning. another level of a relation. and the nuances of love. and, maybe, nothing more.but enough.

Nothing interesting to see here

[Horst_In_Translation · 2/10 · 12 October 2017]

"De vuelta" or "Back again" is a Spanish award-winning short film from 2015, so still relatively new. It runs for 13 minutes, 11 without credits, and it is the first filmmaking effort for writer and director Gabriel Dorado as the man in charge. This is the story of two men, former lovers apparently, meeting again quite a while after their relationship ended. They talk about the past, the now and the future and there is lots of tension and issues to be discussed. But all of a sudden, all the drama is gone and the two take part in some firework celebration before the movie ends in an uplifting way that can be described as "happy for the sake of it" and that is pretty much the worst way to end a film because it sacrifices all credibility. The two actors are tolerable I guess, but they cannot make the material work either. One of them is apparently fairly well-known in Spain for his small-screen acting. Overall, the film has nothing memorable to offer, I have no clue why we should care about the characters and everything in here is just very unsatisfying. I hope Dorado steps things up in the future as this rookie effort is not a success at all. However, the ones who are really to blame here are not the cast and crew, but those giving awards to this film. I can only shake my head at that. The mere inclusion of gay romance should not be enough for a film to make waves. But unfortunately that's all there is to this one here. It feels like an epilogue to another movies, but nope it is the movie itself. Big thumbs-down.

Simple and Youthful

[vantruongqt · 8/10 · 7 July 2018]

Gabriel Dorado's "De Vuelta" ("Back Again" in English) tells the story of two former lovers who reunite on San Juan Night, a traditional festival in Spain & Portugal. For Alex, the flame stills burns bright, but for Jordi, the flame of youthful passion has died out, like the candle in the abandoned house they flee to in the sudden summer storm. Two years have passed; "We were kids," Jordi tells Alex. "We were so close," says Alex.

Director Dorado has lavished big forces (over 70 technicians including a 2nd unit) and lush production values on this bittersweet 13 minute film of love's echoes and its joyful resurgence. The young men revisit the childish things, such as the Woody doll from "Toy Story", and pass briefly with terse words through the Shakespearean storm segment, to finally explode into a new possibility: that lovers can be friends, and that whatever the cause of their separation 2 years before, it's possible they can be that little bit older and wiser and happy with each other again.