Long distance relationships are nothing new, but with the presence of the internet, they are much easier to keep than ever before. Carlos Marques-Marcet’s “10,000 KM†examines these special connections but it ends up with unresolved differences.
Sergi (David Verdaguer) and Alex (Natalia Tena) are about as close a couple can get. They make love constantly in their Barcelona apartment and are considering having a baby. One day Alex gets a job offer to work in Los Angeles for year which means they have to be on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Being connected only via internet calls Sergi and Alex’s relationship becomes rocky.
This movie shows a modern day long distance relationship. That means lots of internet video calls of mundane everyday things. That’s where the movie falters. The majority of the calls these two have mostly consist of “here’s what America looks like.†“Here are some of the pictures of LA I took for my job.†These mundane things are meant to show how Alex is getting further from Sergi, they don’t work well. They’re dull and don’t make for good storytelling.
The few interesting scenes happen when they get into an argument. One example is when Sergi completely loses it and nearly destroys his apartment. The emotion portrayed by both Sergi and Alex will leave a great impact on anyone who has been in that situation. Another exception is the scene where Sergi teaches Alex how to cook. That scene perfectly shows how well they really communicate with each other. It also shows just how much Alex is dependant on Sergi when it comes to normal household chores. He sounds just like a mother scorning her daughter for not knowing how cook despite her showing her how it’s done for years. The sad part is these are the only times the audience will be emotionally invested in what’s going on on screen.
On another positive note, the acting is pretty impressive. Tena show she has range even when she’s speaking Spanish. This should come as no surprise as she owned the role of Tonks in the “Harry Potter†movies. Verdaguer also shows off his acting skills with the material given to him. He is convincing in his emotions both when he speaks and when he has to use body language. It’s as if this role was made especially for him.
“10,000 KM†takes an everyday occurrence and makes it just that, everyday and boring. The many internet calls will leave viewers bored out of their minds and looking at their watches. The few non boring scenes show off the acting talents of the two actors, but are not enough to slog through a romance movie that’ll make you fall asleep.
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