Solitary Fragments

Loss, lonliness and the little things in life are deftly handled in Solitary Fragments, the second outing for Spanish director Jaime Rosales, whose 2003 debut The Hours of the Day received near universal acclaim. The film intertwines the life of a single mother and her female dominated family, giving us an almost uncomfortably intrusive look into their lives.

Without exception the unknown cast perform brilliantly, giving the mostly incidental dialogue nuanced vitality and wit, although Petra Martinez as the mother somewhat steals the show with her flawless delivery of an ageing woman’s foibles and insecurities. Roughly a third of the film is shot in split screen, which works well when the characters move around within the very domestic interiors; their absence from one frame reinforcing their presence in the other.

But when used for conversations between characters, with one or the other looking directly into the camera, the technique becomes a little tired. Relentlessly realistic highlighting the tragedy, occasional humour and latent absurdity which will follow all of us to our graves, Solitary Fragments is a rewarding, emotionally intelligent piece from an accomplished director.