Esteros (2016)

Esteros

• I can tell this isn’t going to be a super long review, just because I don’t have too much to say, and it’s not a super complex film. Yes, it’s definitely emotional, but it didn’t feel like something I haven’t seen before. It kind of has a non-linear storytelling structure, jumping back and forth between present day and the past. However, it doesn’t jump around too much, so it doesn’t always feel non-linear. The story is told from the present, occasionally using the past to add in context and backstory. Even though the structure works really well, the actual romance seemed a bit like your run-of-the-mill romance. Don’t get me wrong, it was very sweet, a little heartbreaking, and beautiful, but compared to other gay romance films, it’s just average. The writing is decent, and the dialogue came off very smoothly. But it’s just another romance to me. The performances from the two leads were very passionate yet stoic, and I loved their chemistry together. The same goes for the child actors. They worked together really well and seemed to present an authentic relationship. No matter which actor was portraying the main characters, they did the role justice. Also, kudos to the casting department, because the physical similarities between the kids and adults were insanely close. It makes the time jumps extremely believable, and it’s one of the best jobs I’ve seen a film do when it comes to portraying the same character at different ages. The score was pretty, though a bit generic, and the scenery and visuals were realistic and nice. Overall, it’s not a film that blew me away, and it feels similar to other gay romances I’ve watched, but it’s still good and I’d recommend to most romance/drama fans.