Blue Eyelids

Mid-way through Contreras' beautifully photographed, Mexican drama Blue Eyelids the two protagonists, both awkward and accustomed to their individual lives of solitude, go on a date to the cinema. Projected onto the big screen are a mirror couple, who unlike our characters, are decisive and empowered. Unsurprisingly the post-movie experience fails to play out like the film that the pair have just watched. These scenes perfectly embody the ideas behind the film. Whereas a typical romantic story is concerned with the connections forged between people Blue Eyelids explores quite the opposite; the lack of connection and the shortfall that exists between ideas of love and actual experiences. Stationary shots and sparse dialogue capture the monotony of everyday life and paint a picture of quiet melancholy. This visual style recalls Coppolla's Lost in Translation and the films of Jim Jarmusch (albeit with far less irony) and whilst this is nothing new it is certainly fitting. The ending may not be as surprising as it initially appears; it speaks far more of compromise and disappointment than of love.