SUMMER WIND // A FILM REVIEW OF "THE AUGUST VIRGIN (LA VIRGEN DE AGOSTO)"
There's something wonderfully magic about a film that chooses not to go a traditional route but instead seems to float in front of you. A film that has a magic kind of charm, where a really complicated plot is nowhere to be seen. A film that follows the characters through a moment in their lives, never rushing and always truthful. I'm sure I've just described several of your favorites, but I'm also describing THE AUGUST VIRGIN (LA VIRGEN DE AGOSTO), the intoxicating new film directed by Jonás Trueba, which is fast becoming one of my new favorites.
Set during August in Spain amidst a hot summer, we follow Eva (played delicately by Itsaso Arana, who also co-wrote the script with Trueba). Instead of leaving Madrid during the sweaty August days, as many do, she rents an apartment in a part of town that's filled with life. She seems to need to have passion & life surround her, to inspire her as she contemplates what she wants to do with her life. Honestly, the plot is more or less simply that. We follow Eva as she travels the town and watches others, entranced by their everyday wonder and happiness. Have you ever found yourself staring at someone you don't know, perhaps across the way, smiling joyful at something and then found yourself filled with happiness for a moment that you've witnessed outside of your life? I think we all have, so often that we probably forget about most of them. But how often do we see a film slow down to have a moment like that? There's a sequence where Eva is watching two street performers and she glances at a woman joyfully watching the musician. Eva smiles wildly, seemingly entranced by the moment. It's a gorgeous beat and this film is filled with moments like it.
Eva gets locked out of her apartment and instinctively calls a friend she hasn't seen in years (played by Mikele Urroz), who now has a child. On another day, she tries to see a movie and runs into an ex. As he heads in, she opts not to follow and instead goes back the following day, where she overhears a conversation between two women behind her. She stops them after and they make plans. On yet another day, she passes a man staring off over a bridge. She stops to talk to him and then, as fate has it, sees him bartending at a concert that the previously mentioned women bring her to. Small moments like all of these build up, one bridging a way to the next, like a beautiful ocean of connections. The conversations sometimes seem improvised, they feel real. Eva is ready to move on from her previous life as an actress, but has no idea where to go next. She finds comfort in these ordinary conversations, in the witnessing of life around her and it builds and builds until she can no longer just be a witness to life.
Itsaso Arana is captivating as Eva, entrancing and hypnotizing. As Agos, the man on the bridge, Vito Sanz brings an unknown sadness to the film that seems to instantly be chipped away at once Eva stops to say hello. It takes him off guard and it's quite lovely to see. In fact, each interaction in the film, from her old friend to her new friends all seem to build upon each other in a refreshing way. Nothing is flashy here, and it certainly takes its time. The film runs a little over two hours and takes its time getting there. Watching from home, as we are all holed up these days, you may be tempted to let distractions take hold. Don't. Let her point of view cover you and slow down your world, making your worries disappear for a moment to experience two beautiful, hot weeks of August in Madrid. We spend far too little time slowing down to enjoy small moments. Doing that for even two hours sounds like paradise to me.
GRADE: A
WRITTEN BY Itsaso Arana, Jonás Trueba DIRECTED BY Jonás Trueba STARRING Itsaso Arana, Vito Sanz, Isabelle Stoffel, Joe Manjon, María Herrador, Luis Alberto Heras, Mikele Urroz, Simon Pritchard, Sigfrid Monleon, Francesco Carril, Lucía Perlado. Now Available at Select Theatre Nationwide and Digital Cinemas.