Søren Kierkegaard’s 1843 philosophical work Repetition, with its focus on spiritual renewal and rejection of nostalgia, has found unexpected contemporary clout. The gloomy Dane’s concept of repetition serves as a guiding framework in Jonás Trueba’s The Other Way Around: a witty, cerebral film that initially evokes mature classics such as Scenes from a Marriage and Annie Hall, before veering into playfully modernist territory.
Ale (Itsaso Arana), a film-maker, and her long-time partner Alex (Vito Sanz), an actor, decide to celebrate the end of their 14-year relationship with a heartfelt farewell party. Is the party a provocation? Just a little, but it’s an idea inspired by something Ale’s father (played by Trueba’s real-life father, veteran director Fernando Trueba) once said.
He, however, is as unsettled by the notion as most of the former couple’s friends. Some are dismayed by the break-up of their “romantic heroes”; others simply won’t accept it: “Everybody knows you’ll get back together,” says Ale’s father, as he hands her the Kierkegaard text.
No matter how many assurances are given that both parties are fine with the uncoupling, nothing seems to soothe their largely aghast social circle.
READ MORE
References to Hegelian synthesis and a tarot deck inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s marriage to Liv Ullman lightly pepper a script, co-written by the director and stars Arana and Sanz, that plays Brechtian games. A preview screening of Ale’s film-in-progress – starring Alex – turns out to be the very film we’re watching.
“Is it circular or linear?” asks one viewer in a moment that doubles as a spoiler alert.
Trueba’s film is both, as it leans into the stars’ easy, domestic chemistry.
Romantic comedies typically demand an easy reconciliation. The Other Way Around, although ponderous in places, is skilful enough to leave the viewer rooting for precisely the opposite. It’s a neat trick: like pulling a tablecloth from under dishes in reverse.
