Don't You Let Me Go

Losing a loved one can be a highly traumatic experience, and, consequently, letting go can be an exceedingly difficult experience, something to which many of us can probably relate. So it is for Adela (Chiara Hourcade) when her longtime friend, Elena (Victoria Jorge), passes away at an untimely young age. She puts up a good front at Elena’s wake, but, once the event is over, she loses it, crying profusely in the privacy of her car. However, in a moment of seemingly divine intervention, she spots a bus with a lighted destination sign that literally feels like a sign in itself, prompting her to willingly exit her vehicle and board the bus. Subsequently, the bus transports her back in time to an autumn weekend getaway in the country, where she and her friend, along with a third colleague, Luci (Eve Dans), relive the good times they shared together, a quasi-surrealistic experience tinged with passing supernatural overtones. Adela is overjoyed to be in Elena’s company once again, but what happens when the weekend comes to an end? Can she let go now that she’s had this experience, or is the loss still too painful to separate (and, if so, what then)? As intriguing as this premise might sound, however, the narrative is all over the map. The significance underlying the two friends’ relationship is never adequately explained, hinting at times that there may be more going on here than is made clear. And, as for the weekend’s happenings, they feel as though they’re a collection of unrelated random events strung together, implying a relevance that is never made particularly apparent. What’s more, if this is supposed to be about the bond between Adela and Elena, what is Luci’s presence for? Moreover, the occasional inclusion of a voiceover narration to provide background comes across like a feeble attempt at trying to “explain” things, given that the onscreen developments never seem to adequately do this in themselves. As a result, this film feels more like a haphazard sisterhood...