A 20-year-old slacker in Buenos Aires becomes trapped in a cycle of thwarted desire driven by dating apps. He spends his time at a dead-end call center and in bed, glued to his phone, swiping through explicit profiles that promise passionate encounters. His compulsive behavior creates a paradox: it consumes his attention while also distracting him from real life, including conversations with a coworker who acts like a big sister. Constant notifications punctuate his interactions and deliver dopamine rushes that intensify his craving for more. When online sexual talk leads to in-person meetings, he seeks genuine intimacy but panics when fantasy becomes reality. The film portrays the queer scene with vivid visual detail, though it provides limited insight into his personal life beyond screen addiction.
"A sea of naked torsos and bulging crotches surge across his screen, each promising a passionate encounter and perhaps something more. Caro's film captures this obsession with striking psychological precision. There's a paradox to Santiago's compulsive behaviour, which is at once all-consuming and distracting. Faced with the illusion of choice, he can't help swiping even when he's on a night out with his coworker Karen (Jazmin Carballo), who plays a big-sister role to the restless young man."
"Santiago's real-life conversations are punctuated with the constant pings of new messages, offering dopamine rushes that leave him wanting more. Peppered with witty dialogue, these moments of disconnect bristle with ironic humour and palpable melancholy. It is unclear, however, what Santiago is actually after. When his sexually charged online conversations translate into in-person meetups, he seems to desire genuine intimacy as much as a hookup."
"He is drawn to a glamorous gay club with a secret back room, but then panics when the fantasy of anonymous sex turns into actual flesh. The script, though, offers little insight into his personal life beyond his screen addiction, so Santiago's contradictory acts of self-sabotage lack much emotional heft. But despite its weaknesses as a character piece, the film manages to impress with its account of the queer scene in Buenos Aires, packed with vivid visual details."
Read at www.theguardian.com
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