Martina and Manuel cross the border from Bolivia as «mules». Manuel dies with the cocaine capsules inside his body. Martina turns to her father, who she never met before, for help.
At least we got the original cast back, right? Not even that saves it. None of them could bring a sliver of hope to this special. Rather, they bring dread as we witness the light leaving from their eyes.
Despite the film’s efforts to reframe its heroine with modern complexity, a certain emotional distance lingers.
Seeing that the film was essentially his first big, mainstream feature, and with garnering a leading role — portraying the revolutionary ball-player Jackie Robinson — Boseman, without question, delivered a performance that is still so incredibly moving, respectful, genuine, and true to the core of his obviously sincere, artistic heart; and with that, it is indeed so saddening to see him pass.
This surprisingly clever romantic comedy perfectly balances genuine heart with wild reality television chaos. It is an uplifting and funny reminder that second chances and real community can show up exactly when you stop looking for them.
'Living' dives into many themes that we can all understand regardless of our cultural backgrounds. We can see this through the shared similarities between 'Ikiru' and 'Living'.
