Don’t You Let Me Go

By: Gladys Luna

What would you do if you could have a bit of extra time with someone you just lost? In Don’t You Let Me Go, Adela (Chiara Hourcade), suddenly finds herself traveling back to a moment in time where she could meet her late best friend Elena (Victoria Jorge), one more time. In this beautiful and heart-breaking story, we are able to navigate across the different stages of grief explored from the very unique perspective of Adela as she grasps tightly to this very last second chance.

The first minutes of the film are focused on showing us a brief introduction about the different people that have been part of Elena’s life and how they sail through the loss of who she was: a daughter, a mother, a wife, a friend and a sister. Seen through the eyes of those who met her, we are filled with anecdotes of all sorts about her giving us a glimpse into who she used to be, but the real story begins once Adela takes a leap of faith and drags us with her on what could be seen as the beginning of her journey to healing.

The chemistry between Chiara Hourcade and Victoria Jorge is marvelous and genuine and it can be easily transmitted to their characters giving them the touch of reality they need. Somewhere along the story the character of Luci (Eva Dans) is added to the mix, perfectly colliding with the duo’s dynamic. One of my favorite scenes it is undoubtedly the one where Adela reunites again with Elena and with just one glance and a single touch, she accomplishes the goal of making us feel all of the emotions she is experiencing when seeing her friend one last time.

Although at first it is difficult to connect entirely with the story as it is somewhat confusing to where is going without having a clear context beyond the obvious, directors Ana Guevara and Leticia Jorge manage to lead us little by little into a gut-wrenching and nostalgic voyage where they allow us to discover and ultimately grow fond of Elena’s character to the point where it is inevitable not to grieve her loss as well.

Don’t You Let Me Go is a story about true friendship, love, loss, grief and a clear example that the path to healing is always different for everyone. Make sure you don’t miss this film and bring some tissues with you.