Navidad

Navidad is an early film from acclaimed Chilean director, Sebastián Lelio. Lelio would later go on to make the English-language WLW film, Disobedience. Even more notably, the same year of Disobedience‘s release, Lelio’s drama A Fantastic Woman won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Navidad is not as good as either of these films. That’s understandable. Lelio was a less experience filmmaker with a fraction of the budget. But it doesn’t change the fact that Navidad is easily the weakest of Lelio’s films that I’ve seen.

Adhering to what must have been a small production budget, Navidad is a character-driven drama that primarily takes place in one location. Young couple Ale (Diego Ruiz) and Aurora (Manuela Martelli) break into an abandoned house to spend the holidays. After a few days on their own, they discover a teenage diabetic runaway named Alicia (Alicia Rodríguez) on their property. Unable to send her away, Ale and Aurora bond with Alicia.

If anything, the bond between the older Ale and Aurora and younger Alicia feels almost parental. Especially as they learn of Alicia’s limited and negative relationship with her actual parents. This is a more interesting relationship dynamic to me. The idea of a slightly older couple taking care of a girl who is younger, but close enough to their age that they can easily sympathize is a tender, easy dynamic. The film is at its best once this dynamic is established.

But, Navidad’s presence on this site means that this relationship can’t be strictly platonic. Earlier in the film, Ale and Aurora butted heads over Aurora sleeping with a female friend of hers. Bisexuality established. After Alicia’s parents fail to pick her up, the three return to their home. They drink and engage in several minutes of sloppy threeway make outs. Then, Ale and Aurora have sex. Alicia third wheels by lying next to them and holding hands with Aurora. Whatever shape this three person relationship will take isn’t solidified by this scene at all. And it’s one of the last scenes on the film. But hey, they’re all teenagers and a relationship with two people is confusing. Ale and Aurora have added a third and the definition of what Alicia is to them isn’t settled yet.

Lelio’s directing of Navidad shows competence and potential. But he’s definitely limited. Either through budget or an artistic choice, the film tells a very limited story. So, there’s not much chance for him to spread his wings artistically. Some of the establishing shots are nice. The set design is good. But really, the film is primarily dialogue shown through close-ups. The visuals can’t really add much to such a character-heavy story. Or maybe there’s a way they could, but that wasn’t present in Navidad.

Honestly, Navidad is pretty dull. It’s mostly just teens sharing their trauma. The characters too feel flat or not likeable enough for that story to really sing. Lelio shows some talent as a director, but he’s super limited by the scope of the film. Navidad is a small, personal story that didn’t sing enough to grab my full attention.

Overall rating: 5.3/10

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