Axun’s ex son-in-law Mikel is rushed to hospital after a tragic car accident and as he is completely alone, she feels obliged to visit him. Whilst there she meets Maite who’s visiting her brother, also in a coma, and realizes that this is her best friend from high school. In fact the two of them were much closer than that, but they never allowed themselves to act on their feelings. Now 50 years later, Axun and her husband lead a comfortable, and somewhat boring life on a farm, whereas Maite has traveled the world extensively before coming back home to San Sebastian to teach piano at a school that she is about to retire from.As the friendship between the two women re-kindles, Axun’s husband gets increasingly angry that his wife is not there to wait on him hand and foot simply because she is supposedly now visiting Mikel on a daily basis. Something he doesn’t understand because neither of them could abide him in the past, and so he becomes suspicious of Axun’s long absences from home.
Axun is initially shocked to discover that Maite is a lesbian, but at the same time realizes that her feelings toward her go way beyond mere friendship. She tells her friend, that when they are together, she is the happiest she has ever been in her life. The question is, is her newly rediscovered love enough to make her leave her conventional life now that it is in its last years, or will she for once follow her heart?
This captivating and tender highly-unusual drama about two 70-year-old lesbians was sensitive, insightful and so very moving. I was desperate to research it when I got home to discover how two men in their ‘30’s could write and direct such an intelligent authentic piece, and as I suspected it was loosely based on a true story. It is a sheer delight. A mature film made for mature audience.
P.S. Two notable facts. Shot entirely in the Basque language, this is not only the first Feature from the two filmmakers, it is astonishingly the first movie for Mariasun Pagoaga, all the more reason to applaud her stunning performance.
