Medianeras: The Purest Form of Searching

From the gray, colorless, windowless buildings of Buenos Aires, thousands of people are shouting inwardly at themselves; could true love still exist in the crowded streets, the ugly shops, the cold office rooms, beneath the endless subways? The film Medianeras, where people are likened to buildings, gives us an answer to this question through its two main characters.

Countless films in cinema archives are already in search of perfect love. Some end happily, some tragically; some rise into the ranks of classics with great acclaim, while others remain mediocre and forgotten; some make you reach for a tissue, while others first bring you to tears and then make you laugh sweetly. There are also dozens of films with the same bittersweet taste as Ortaçgil’s Eylül Akşamı, works that eventually turn into something like the Before trilogy, or films like 500 Days of Summer that reset our counters entirely. Considering these examples, I could never bring myself to classify Medianeras, as just another standard romantic comedy.

Gustavo Taretto’s 2011 debut feature film Medianeras offers us small glimpses into the lives of two people unaware of each other’s existence. We watch the simultaneous events that a man and a woman go through. In the rush of modern city life, people suffocate, grow desensitized, are driven toward disconnection, and end up imprisoning themselves in tiny, windowless apartments, seeking communication through miniature digital screens. Watching all this saddens us, while also making us think: if there were an Istanbul version of this film, with its architectural examples and its countless one of a kind neighborhoods, the cityscapes could stretch far longer and deliver equally striking moments.

The film’s flow and the turning point for its protagonists come when they can no longer bear this robotic routine and decide to have a window opened in their walls. From that day on, those little windows completely transform their view of life and of themselves. Beyond its filmography, with its use of urban architecture and visual richness, the film gives the audience plenty to take in, fully justifying the acclaim it has received. In Medianeras, we witness realistic reflections of searching and the awareness that follows. After finishing the film, I can guarantee you’ll look out of your window at least once, at the sky, and at the living city.