“I don’t understand why you prefer me when I’m drunk, as if I were a trapped genie that you freed from the bottle. You didn’t see the garden that was going to be ours. Sometimes I remember how perfect those paths were, where each tree was, its size. Your light.” Selected as Costa Rica’s official submission for the Best International Film Category at the 96th Academy Awards and honoured with the prestigious Pardo d’oro for Best Direction, Best Actress and Best Actor at the Locarno Film Festival 2022, I Have Electric Dreams is now available for streaming on the Mubi Platform. Directed by the talented Valentina Maurel, this captivating coming-of-age drama delves into the complexities of love and pain, offering a sincere and intimate portrayal that is both unsettling and boldly truthful.
The story revolves around Eva, a sixteen-years-old girl who must navigate the challenges of her parents’ separation and the inherent difficulties of adolescence. As she embarks on a journey of self-discovery, the girl finds herself at odds with her mother, a former dancer who has found a new lease on life following an inheritance. However, her bond with her father, an artist with an extremely temperamental nature who can easily burst out into violent behaviour, remains strong and profound. The film explores the abruptness of Eva’s transition into adulthood, a process that is both gradual and sudden, unfolding in various ways.
Amidst the backdrop of Eva’s sexual awakening, which she is not yet ready to fully embrace, the movie primarily focuses on her unexpected role as a caregiver to her bohemian father. Instead of keeping her role as a daughter for a little while longer, Eva must now take on the responsibilities of a mother and a friend. She guides and supports the man – which truly seems lost – providing both emotional and practical assistance. The plot revolves in fact around her, looking for an apartment for both of them, as the father has no steady place to live. In their depending bond, Eva becomes increasingly drawn to his unconventional lifestyle and his vibrant circle of friends, immersing herself in the tempestuous and alternative world of San Jose. Nights filled with poetry, dance, music, alcohol and drugs, overseen by her beloved black cat named after the renowned Jamaican poet and singer Linton Kwesi Johnson, a pioneer of Dub Poetry.
With an intimate yet unflinching style, the Costa Rican director portrays a film that ultimately revolves around a bond stronger than anything else. Father and daughter stand as equals, engaging in conversation about anything, engaging in their sincere affection but also in dramatic conflicts. Their relationship is a constant ebb and flow of peace and war, always existing in the grey areas in between. This is a film that in fact explores loves in all its facets, including the most toxic ones, capturing moments of camaraderie and joy alongside the worst bursts of violence of the father, which are always accompanied by remorse on his side and forgiveness from hers.
That is why it echoes the poetry penned by the man protagonist: “I have electric dreams, a pack of wild animals, screaming their love for each other, sometimes with blows.”
Valentina Maurel, with her audacious directorial choices – sometimes almost disturbing in what they present – and an intrusive camera which is never scared to dig deep, refrains from passing judgment and simply presents the tale of a father and a daughter. Much like the vibrant blue walls of Eva’s new room, the film itself is undeniably “electric”, pulsating with raw emotion and unfiltered honesty.
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