La vida después delivers an intimate chronicle of the aftermath of a couple’s separation
La vida después, the second outing by Pablo Bardauil and Franco Verdoia (Chile 672), chronicles the aftermath of the separation of a married couple after many, many years, and it hinges on a thought-provoking question: how much do we know the people we love the most?
In the story of Juana (María Onetto) and Carlos (Carlos Belloso), some revelations surface soon after they separated on very friendly terms: first, he suspects she’s having an affair with an old friend of theirs, and then she starts unveiling a hidden facet of his. Could things really be as they seem under a different light?
As the film begins to unfold, you realize La vida después could have been a play. Which is not a bad thing in this particular case, considering how neatly composed and framed each shot is, and how the narrative is deployed. Its story is divided into self-contained austere scenes, filmed mostly with a static camera as not to intrude into the actors’ space and allow viewers to contemplate them in their interplay. As for the editing, it’s also pretty seamless. And while the photography is rather lifeless at times — perhaps deliberately — La vida después is, in its own style, quite accomplished in formal terms.
And it does have an effective premise that grants the logic of the many things the ex-husband and ex-wife do in order to learn more about each other. It’s best to not disclose much information here, but just as a hint let’s say that the idea of using Carlos’ new novel as a means to delve into the past does pay off, regardless of how conventional it might be. Another asset is the chemistry between Onetto and Belloso as the spouses in crisis — despite Onetto’s character being slightly overacted.
The truth is La vida después has many good ideas — but some of them are executed though clichéd situations with clichéd dialogue. Also, up to the middle of it, dramatic focus is well maintained, so the plot is convincing. This is the part where Carlos investigates Juana’s past and present without her knowledge — kudos to Belloso for a subtle and authentic job as the anguished ex-husband. Then something unexpected happens, which changes the viewers’ expectations as well as the direction of the plot. And you feel you’ve been shortchanged with a narrative gimmick. More precisely, a change in the narrative point of view comes across as forced and anticlimactic.
In turn, what Juana eventually finds out about Carlos is too important to be developed in such a short time (it’s almost the stuff for another movie) and pretty much out of the blue. New ideas keep popping up without rounding up previous ones and the story loses momentum. That’s how La vida después gets confused and confusing in what it really wants to say.
When and where
La vida después (Argentina, 2015). Directed by Franco Verdoia and Pablo Bardauil. With María Onetto, Carlos Belloso, Rafael Ferro, Esteban Meloni, Sandra Villani. Cinematography: Jorge Dumitre. Editing: Delfina Castagnino. Running time: 73minutes.
