Sand Dollars, Pelo Melo, and Mujer Fantastica

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Film Review
Sand Dollars
"Sand Dollars" is a Spanish movie written and directed by Israel Cardenas and Laura Amelia Guzman, showing a love relationship between two women, an old lady and a young woman. The film presents Noeli, a young Dominican woman who engages in a romantic affair with Anne, an old French woman with wrinkles over her entire body (Guzman 0:30). Though the older woman, Anne, sincerely desires to attain love from Noeli, Noeli is only engaging in a lesbian relationship due to her need to earn money. The two women do simple things such as talking, swimming, talking, and lying with their bodies entwined together.
The story itself consists of a simple plot. It revolves around the two women in which their love complexities unfold, denying the viewers any judgment they may make on the relationship. At times, the young lady, Noeli, is presented as a manipulative moneymaker who constantly exploits money for an old lady who loves her. Other times, Noeli is presented as a young girl trying to earn a living within a hostile society. Similarly, there are moments the lights portray the glaring age difference between the two women, which makes the viewers question whether they should accuse Anne of misusing a little girl. Yet, other times, love, loneliness, and pain in the older woman's eyes make it difficult to pose a judgment. Through this strategy, the film balances the two characters that the viewers conclude that it is a story of mutual need rather than exploitation. Therefore, the film successfully portrays that each woman needs the other.
Pelo Melo
Pelo Melo is a movie written and directed by Mariana Rondon. The film features Marta, who acts as a single mother and struggles to balance employment with childcare. The single mother, recently widowed, conflicts with her son Junior w...