Nona is a young mortician in Honduras. She lives alone: her father was gunned down on his way home from buying a bag of chips, her brother was stabbed to death during a home invasion, and her mother has fled to the U.S., too poor to pay for her daughter’s passage over to join her.
So you might say Nona is ripe for escape when she meets Hecho, a bad boy on a Vespa. He’s a traveler, a laid-back, rootless guy as evidenced by his ubiquitous bowler hat. They have a fun, flirty road trip, ambling toward their destination, taking their time, getting to know each other. And we’re treated to these beautiful countrysides and colourful images that make us feel like we’re on vacation with them. Nona is fleeing a very hard and dangerous life, but once she’s on the road, it’s clear she feels free. She’s a different person.
Until they near the border, and it turns out that Hecho traffics in humans, and this whole transaction has not been what Nona thought. Yeah. It’s a bit of a blow. The last third of the film takes an abrupt turn, as I’m sure it feels to Nona, who clearly doesn’t see it coming. Is she that naive, and is Hecho that villainous?
The shift is harsh, I’m not gonna lie. But how can I complain when a woman goes from romance to brothel in about ten seconds flat? You’re going to have to watch this one for yourself, if only to commiserate.
“when a woman goes from romance to brothel in about ten seconds flat?”
It’s absolutely doable if she lives close by and doesn’t dilly-dally.
Have a nice weekend, Jay xoxox
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Never trust a bloke on a Vespa.
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I used to dream about being a young mortician in Honduras. I fell just short and ended up being a body snatcher in Shoreditch
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Considering that that’s probably how this plays out for many who end up in that situation, it’s probably how the movie needed to go. Abrupt, but probably true to life. A good warning to those that might be tempted by the cute bad boy.
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Oooft. That was unexpected. Stay clear of folk in bowler hats.
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“Stay clear of folk in bowler hats.”
Particularly of those! You may always trust fedora wearing folk tho. Creepy af but more stylish.
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The mother abandoning the daughter to save her own butt reminds me of the mother in The Road who kills herself, leaving a child behind. I know people are capable of anything, but mothers behaving that way doesn’t ring true to me.
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poignant reminder
that there’s a hook
awaiting catching
each one of us 🙂
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