I don't remember exactly how I find this short film, probably some random search about a similar title or something, but what I do remember is the exact feeling I had
when watching the events unfold before my eyes. A feeling of sadness, some uneasy quietness and plenty of reflections not only about the main character from the movie but also
about myself even though my reality is quite far away from her in several ways, but that's how empathy goes and that's when you put yourself in other people's shoes.
"Solidão" ("Loneliness") presents a lonely old lady, living on her own and doing her things but her mind keeps on wanting to reconnect with her family and her
grand-daughter of whom she used to receive in her house in lovely days. For some reason, they don't visit her anymore despite her contacts and phone calls. So, the film deals
with many poignant questionings such as growing old and not having your legacy (kids, grand-kids, etc) to take care of you for many different reasons, the loneliness faced
by some elderly just in a time when they need other people's company due to life fragilities that comes with age or simply because we're humans and we need contact and period.
And for some reason, I was moved by the few things presented here. The movies have such ability where we can envision ourselves in alternative realities where in some
moments we can imagine ourselves differently from what we live and experience. A few examples involving this short: so here's a lonely grandmother who longs for the company
of her grand-daughter of whom she misses very much and we see flashbacks from their past together and even some imagined moments as well. And it's all heartbreaking to see.
And there's me, a young guy who only thinks of reaching old age when movies or some life situations make me question about things or make me think about how will I be, how will
I act when I reach my old age? And while some things can be predicted, the majority of things cannot be like your health, your memory, the relationships that will stay formed
until then or the new ones you'll get, the family left for you to care about and vice-versa (if ever). Things like that. And the thin line between fact and fiction is so
strange about this movie that I can't tell exactly if what we're seeing is acting or a documentary about a relative from the filmmaker. All I know is that I felt really sad
about that lady. But these things happen.
That's just some view of mine about loneliness and how families, for reasons unknown to us, sometimes lose contact with one another and a distance is formed when it
shouldn't. Maybe as an ultimate goal the movie is here to present to us youngsters that we need to see things from a different perspective, from a different point of view
where we can get the exact feeling our parents go through while we are grown ups and with a life of our own. We must appreciate them while they're still here. Obviously that
we can't be at all times with our relatives but some form of contact must be made (understandable reasoning comes in damaged relations but that's a different story).
For whatever purpose the makers of this tried to present, I'm all for it, enjoyed it but it's a quite depressive story. But that's life and reality as well. 8/10.