The story of the Argentine-Ecuadorian-German production 87 takes place in two time periods. First, it unfolds in 1987, when Pablo (Nicolás Andrade), Andrés (Francisco Pérez), Juan (Andrés Alvarez) and Carolina (Jessica Barahona) were the best of friends who had the best of times while idling in an abandoned house they used as a meeting point for their teenage mischievous ventures.
Perhaps Juan is the true rebel so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he runs away from home when his father, a strict policeman, wants to enrol him in military school. Then there’s an unexpected car accident which makes Pablo flee Quito as well, never to be seen again. That is until some 15 years later he comes back to Ecuador to settle old scores and be a part of a reunion with his old friends, which will make them confront a sweet bygone past with an unsettling present.
87 is narrated by switching back and forth between present and past, and among other things it posits that a single episode that happens in a mere few seconds can alter the lives of those caught up in it — not a very novel notion. It’s also a coming of age story and, as such, expect a depiction of the pain and bliss of love, the aches of jealousy, the value of friendship and some other facets of growing up as well.
The thing is that, despite the filmmakers’ best intentions to tackle this coming-of-age story in a fresh manner, they seldom achieve it. You’ve seen many coming-of-age tales of this sort and nothing truly new is explored here. To a point, the young actors’ performances may be engaging, but it’s not long before they become formulaic and repetitive. Let alone the fact that all these characters are somewhat underwritten, which doesn’t help much.
And while the film’s tone — sometimes reflexive, other times more vivacious — is firmly established from beginning to end, and so 87 boasts a certain appeal, it’s also true that the dramatic progression is weak and somewhat unsubstantial. On the plus side, the cinematography does have its good moments, in some particular scenes (especially in terms of an appealing composition and an equally appealing palette), plus an overall feeling of loss and melancholy ably permeate the drama.
However, good ambiance can’t make up for an absence of pathos. So 87 does look good at times, but fails to probe deep into the very issues it addresses.
Limited release
BAMA (Av. Pres. Roque Sáenz Peña 1145) Hoyts Quilmes (Av. Calchaquí 3950).
Production notes
87 (Ecuador, Argentina, Germany, 2014) Written and directed by Anahí Hoeneisen, Daniel Andrade. With Andrés Alvarez, Nicolás Andrade, Jessica Barahona, Francisco Pérez, Daniel Roepke. Cinematography: Daniel Andrade. Editing: Javier Andrade, Andrés Tambornino. Running time: 86 minutes.
@pablsuarez
