‘contemporary entertainment has certainly crossed over to a more participative place and other people’s lives are now at the centre of it’
i seldom get exited about reality shows or any docu-drama for that matter… but the autobiographical episodes of te quiero yo tampoco caught me totally by surprise. in broad strokes the story is about an imminent gay marriage, but unlike the seriously scripted stuff of narrated documentaries we are used to, this is a candid look at peoples’ lives and their choices in a real time kinda way. besides the integration of a cast of diverse acquaintances the whole ‘making of’ live feed social media component brings the context and short episodes to life. instead of actors, these webisodes contain strangers who soon become friends and whether or not one identifies with who or what they are up to, the fact remains that a certain evocative empathy develops which keeps your attention and steals your heart.
a powerful piece of work where the central theme of choices and relationships are so sensitively approached and the case studies are so inventive that the series becomes more like an endearing journey than merely ‘the lives of others’. as a personal diary of discovery, it is certainly one of the most enlightening pieces i’ve seen on the topic. the non staged, homemade editing style and the incorporation of clever collage material creates a dynamic with more potency than most cgi or fx, add to that familiar spanish-ness and there you go; inspirational, individual and intimate.
while part of me just wants to make a call to a friend at sundance, there’s something so sincere and personal about this i fear it might just become undone in the massive movie machine.
artwork by the glory hole illustrations
