Califórnia (2015) Online

Saw this at the Rotterdam film festival (IFFR.COM 2016. Some time ago I made a firm resolution to never ever see a coming-of-age film again, yet I booked a ticket this time and should have known better. Petty problems with popularity, forming couples, going out, the infamous "first time", and particularly about caring how others look at you. The plot with Uncle Carlos and the reason why he comes back to Brazil, is the only unique element in the story line, emphasizing (*** spoiler alert ***) the risks of unprotected sexual intercourse. Estela's father is over-the-top trying to rule the waves, a bit too black and white in my opinion, but that is what fathers do.

The pointers to various music hits and bands of that time period, went past me altogether, that being my problem and mine alone, I know, having moved over to other music styles before that time period.

Of course, I agree that putting three boys and three girls in a beach house together, may cause a lot of pressure. Nothing new here. The situation is prone to letting you do things you'll regret later, if only to avoid being considered an outsider by your peers. Yet, Estela acts sensibly and retreats just in time, despite the obvious pressure from her environment. Later on she receives the title "nerd" from her class mates, but we know better.

All in all, the film is technically well made, and casting and acting is spotless. Yet I was bored most of the time. Only the last quarter of an hour was a bit interesting.

This is an excellent Brazilian movie which deserves to be much more well-known. All the actors do a great job, but I need to highlight versatile actor Caio Blat's extraordinary performance as the uncle who lives in California and the great debut of young Clara Gallo. Watching rock star Paulo Miklos portraying a character who is exactly the opposite of him is also entertaining. Screenplay is very well developed and sensitive, exploring both family issues and the adolescent discoveries and concerns. One more trait makes this films very special: it dives deeply on the 80's. The story takes place in that decade and it is impressive how many references have been incorporated: it is like time traveling. California is a quite moving and carefully built film which I strongly recommend.