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This is the blog of Ian Rosales Casocot. Filipino writer. Sometime academic. Former backpacker. Twink bait. Hamster lover.

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Tuesday, August 13, 2019

entry arrow4:52 PM | The Griefs of Childhood



Rarely do you find a film that mines fantastically the nuances of childhood. Carla Simón's Estiu 1993 [Summer 1993] (2017) does it with naturalistic flair: it follows an orphan in Barcelona whose parents have died of AIDS as she moves to her uncle's family in the Catalan countrysides. There, she negotiates, in her inchoate ways, many things that can easily break us adults: grief, displacement, subtle prejudices, jealousy, alienation -- all in the nebulous language of one who has no clear conception of the world and its cruelties. A huge part of the film's strengths is its characters: the story is peopled with gentle characters -- especially the adoptive family who embodies grace and love. The film presents tension now and then, but always with the knowledge that we are following good people. The film takes its time and follows almost religiously the day-to-day rituals of childhood, and it is not for those without patience -- but when one chooses to be fully in Frida's world, the rewards are infinite. It will break and make your heart full in equal measure.



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