Love Is Not What It Used to Be (El amor no es lo que era)

In one Spanish city, three couples of varying ages undergo differing experiences of modern love: elderly former lovers meet again after years apart, a middle-aged pair struggle with their diminishing commitment to one another, and a young man and woman take nervous steps into a committed relationship. The three narratives of Love Is Not What It Used to Be are loosely connected by the males of each pairing all working at the same hospital, though the tales never actually intertwine despite gelling well alongside each other within the narrative’s framework.

Though the middle-aged couple’s ennui-filled story proves somewhat dull, much of the film is amiable and engaging. Aided by warm cinematography and a well-drawn, sparky performance from Aida Folch as the female of the youngest pairing, this is a sweet affair that doesn’t offer all that much thematic depth or lasting resonance, but is perfectly charming in the moment with little to annoy. That being said, a recurring visual tic with arrows scribbled over the film certainly comes close. [Josh Slater-Williams]