‘The Other Way Around’: Cannes Review

Dir: Jonas Trueba. Spain/France. 2024. 114mins

Jonas Trueba’s The Different Manner Round, a couple of long-term couple celebrating their break-up with a celebration, has all of the Spanish auteur’s stylistic hallmarks: downbeat, meandering dialogue, filmic and literary narrative video games, the dishevelled, directionless protagonists and a few self-reflexiveness. Trueba’s first go to to Cannes looks like the proper transfer for a director whose devotion to the French New Wave is at all times in proof. In Spain, Trueba and his Los Ilusos manufacturing firm have constructed up one thing of a cult following, which may develop following the movie’s Administrators’ Fortnight screening.

Trueba continues to fulfill movie buffs with loads of enjoyable self-referential components

Solely two of the roles are named ultimately credit: movie editor Ale (Itsaso Arana) and wannabe actor Alex (Vito Sanz). Within the opening scene, as Ale and Alex lie in mattress collectively of their Madrid condo, Ale means that they need to take severely an concept from her free-thinking, philosophical father (performed right here by Fernando Trueba, the director’s personal filmmaker father (Belle Epoque, Chico and Rita) – that it’s separations, fairly than unions, that needs to be celebrated.

Plotwise, not a lot occurs: the movie is content material to stay with its preliminary premise and discover it. By cellphone, or in bars and eating places, Ale and Alex invite numerous associates and relations to their separation celebration and are met with a spread of usually comically revealing reactions. The movie’s Spanish title is Volvereis, that means ’you’ll get again collectively’, and, because the couple work to arrange the celebration, it feels more and more possible that this can occur.

Most of the characters right here work on the edges of the movie trade: they’re the ilusos of the title of Trueba’s manufacturing firm, which interprets as each ’starry eyed’ and ’deluded’ – which just about sums issues up, each for individuals attempting to make their mark with this type of low-budget, indie cinema and maybe younger lovers in all places.  

Trueba continues to fulfill movie buffs with loads of enjoyable self-referential components, designed to enchantment to purists. Generally, they’re technical – there’s a lot of play with onscreen titles, and (after all) the movie we’re watching is one which’s being edited by Ale. Cultural nods additionally abound: the complete movie is introduced as a 2024 model of Hollywood remarriage comedies of the 30s and 40s comparable to The Terrible Reality and His Woman Friday. Ale and Alex use some very cool cinephile tarot playing cards, every that includes a nonetheless from a Bergman film; and there’s a clumsy however mirthful scene during which Ale vainly tries to defend Blake Edwards’ 10 from accusations of sexism and Trueba takes on the theme of cancel tradition.

As so usually with Trueba, The Different Manner Round is part-homage to a Madrid off the vacationer path that’s properly captured by the cautious framing and muted tones of DoP Santiago Racaj. However, other than all of the cinematographic playfulness and philosophical flirtation, viewers want a relationship and characters they will spend money on, and the winsome Ale/Alex tandem delivers. Whether or not or not they’ll get again collectively is much less vital than whether or not the viewer has been made to care about them – and we do. 

Proper from the beginning, there’s an imbalance between the marginally misplaced Alex, who principally appears to be going by means of the separation exactly as a result of his girlfriend needs him to, and the composed, sensible Ale. The perpetual undercurrent of pressure between them at all times feels believable and is well-rendered by Arana and Sanz, who co-wrote the script.  Amongst all of the glancing ironies and wit, time is also fortunately additionally discovered for slightly old school tenderness.