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Leonardo (Yonah Acosta) is a supremely talented ballet dancer, and he's also a man with a plan: Go on an international tour with his ballet troupe, that way ditch Cuba for the US or Canada, and then save up enough money to get his girlfriend Sara (Evelyn Castroda O'Farrill) out of Cuba as well - after all, his sheer talent should grant him a place in any ballet troupe around the world. The main thing that stands in the way of this plan is his temperament that soon loses him his place in the troupe, and thus his plans are shattered. Sara has another suggestion though, to seduce a tourist at the salsa school he works at and then let her invite him to wherever-it-is. Sara goes even allowing him to have sex with her, as long as he avoids looking in her eyes. And soon enough, Iranian-Canadian salsa student Nasim (Aki Yaghoubi) does show interest in Leonardo, and eventually does invite him over to Canada, even going so far as to paying his fare. At first, everything goes alright, especially since Nasim sees Leonardo more as an adventure than an actual boyfriend, and she suspects him having a girlfriend back home. The problem is, no matter where he auditions, Leonardo seems to be unable to get a job as a dancer, and eventually ends up a meatpacker. And given this job isn't paying particularly well, he has trouble accumulating enough money for Sara's passage - when his friend Julio (Julio Cesar Hong Ortiz) comes up with the solution, offering to go to Cuba and marry Sara to take her back to Canada as his legal wife ... for a price of course. Once Sara's over in Canada the problems only really start as for once, Julio wants his money, while Leonardo sees himself forced to hide Sara from Nasim, even though she time and again gives him a chance to come clean. And then Nasim gets pregnant ...

A quite compelling movie that works quite so well because it doesn't go for spectacle or big emotions but in a very relatable and believable sort of way, more going for slice-of-life than maximum effect, this way giving the story space to breathe. And well fleshed-out rather natural characters embodied by a solid ensemble cast only help here, while the directorial effort is subtle enough but shows its love for the arts - from dancing to glass painting -, going for a slick but never glossy look. And all of this sums up to a pretty touching drama.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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