La Soledad, which translates to Solitary Fragments in English, starts off by describing the every day happenings of two families whose lives become intermingled when Adela rents a flat with Ines. The title takes on significant meaning halfway through the movie following a tragic incident. This movie was exceptionally well-done from the start. It was slow-paced throughout, but never felt long or boring, despite its 140 minute running time. The acting was amazing; my favorite part of the movie was the conversation between Adela and Pedro about guilt. There is a union of cinematic and thematic ideas, with a split-screen often used to show the fragmentation and isolation of the characters. The split-screen is often hidden, the visual midpoint being walls or curtains, so that on the surface it does not even look like the characters are separated and alone. In fact, the split-screens are shown in such a way as to almost demand you let go of your sense of space (for example, a character might move out of sight on the right side of the right frame and move back into sight from the right side of the left frame) and just trust the director. I especially liked the use of split-screen in the dialogue, showing that even in conversation, when we are actively talking to other people, our connection to them is still limited by an invisible barrier.The script seemed banal at first, but after the midpoint, emotions heightened and the dialogue took on more weight and meaning. The music was almost nonexistent, but also not necessary. Also, the movie is shot entirely with a static camera. Surprisingly, it never felt staid or old. It was constantly active due to the exceptional editing job. Another thing is that I didn't really understand why it started and ended when it did; the choice of when in their lives to begin telling the story and when to stop seemed a bit random. With that, there were some scenes that could have been cut without losing much if anything at all. In addition, the style makes it take a while to get into the movie. I'm wondering whether or not I'd see it again, but I am definitely glad I got the opportunity to see it today and would definitely recommend it to others (if you can handle the slow pace).
IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0812377/