planeta T E R R A / E A R T H planet 

The problem isn’t that it’s bad. It's good. But it fails to stand out from a crowd of similar films.

Ester Shapiro who flees the only home she has ever known to start a new life in Berlin.

The social issues The Half of it takes on are handled well, between the antagonization brought on to Ellie for her race and the conflict that arises from her being gay. Both aspects of her character are built up over the course of the film and don’t seem abrupt or rushed. The film shows racism towards Ellie and her and father in varying levels, from having her schoolmates specifically address her as "Chinese girl” to the fore mentioned way her Dad is treated due to language barriers. The same can be said about Ellie being a lesbian. While she never truly “comes out” in the narrative, that does not undermine her journey of self-discovery from being meaningful. These ideas aren’t thrust upon the viewer in a preachy manor, the scenarios that occur feel believable given the rural setting. The film presents watchers with problems whom those like Ellie may face, and leaves us to sit with them and reflect.

Some moments of the series are intense and ends on a cliff-hanger that will have you yearning for a second season.

Despite the film’s efforts to reframe its heroine with modern complexity, a certain emotional distance lingers.

A throwback to the last months of the 20th century in this comedy film.