On setting

I find myself going back and forth on this movie.

I definitely understand the sullenness of Santi's character after the suicide of his father.
And I thought the relationship between Jime and her husband was also interesting.

For me, unlike most people, what keeps me from liking it is the setting.
Don't get me wrong, Mancora is gorgeous. But everywhere you look, there are:

a)tourists (I'm still sort of one so really shouldn't complain)
b)surfers ("dude, I know I don't know you but would you like to smoke a joint and listen to me talk about surfing in Hawaii?")
c)backpackers ("I'm getting to know the local culture by hanging out with other backpackers")
d)hippies ("You got any coke? Where's the coke? I like coke. I know you've got coke.")
e)students like Santi from Lima ("I wouldn't even talk to these locals if I didn't need to order a drink")

Like the movie, people come to have as hedonistic a time as possible. Believing locals to be as hedonistic as themselves, they come in droves, looking for drugs and all night beach parties. Mancora is no longer safe at night (thieves and drug dealers) and the beaches are not as pristine as they once were.

I guess you could say, Mancora the movie is the essence of Mancora the place.
You begin excited and full of adventure, something dramatic, melodramatic or annoying occurs, and you leave slightly bruised wondering what the hell just happened. And somewhere inbetween, you get inebriated.

Es que no tenerte aquí ya me hace mal - Shakira