not as bad as a lot of people are saying, but.... [spoilers]

[Mostly reposted from an earlier response on a different thread...]

-- SPOILER ALERT --

Sort of interesting in a minimalist way, although the material seemed to be about right for a short film.

Regarding the fallout from "the event," there definitely was a theme of forgiveness as a conscious choice. Also, I thought there was a moment -- actually several hours -- where she was wavering, wondering if this was even the type of man she could spend the rest of her life with, somebody whose instinct was to do what he did, and the comparison with Dato, who had been there to pick her up when she fell in the creek (how did that happen anyway? and what happened to the strong, capable person she was earlier? aaaanyway...), started to roll around in her head, I think. Almost a choice between the more primal male who was better able to protect a woman (not Dato himself, necessarily -- I don't think anything was going to happen between them, really -- but she was sort of window-shopping for a different type) and the more "evolved" male who was a great companion, but maybe not so good in an emergency. But then, any choice like that is also a choice about who you yourself are going to be. Which kind of woman are you -- the one who needs protecting, or the one who's not going to choose a man based on that? The minimal action in the film actually did convey a pretty complex interaction between the characters. I just don't think it was two hours' worth.

Also, to semi-echo some of Ebert's typically on-target criticism, the film makes that deadly mistake of assuming we should be interested in these people simply because of the mere fact of their relationship (you can do that in a certain kind of film as long as the story doesn't require more than superficiality of the couple), and I guess because of their physical attractiveness, the fact that they're Americans in a really foreign place, making an effort to learn some of the language, etc. But mostly they're just super-cute, or maybe cutesy, especially with each other. Cute to the point of being really trivial and banal at times, which was so obvious to me that I actually thought it might've been intentional, especially in view of the scene where, after they sing the silly song about Don Gato, Dato actually starts talking about his wife and child and real life in a way that makes the typical conversation from the couple seem utterly twittish to the point of being almost embarrassing. But then, if that was intentional, how would that affect how we read her choice? Is she turning back toward the twittish because she likes it better than the darker reality of life with tragedy and pain? But if she had decided instead to chuck all the darlingness and move toward that weightier life, would that have meant she should've given in to Dato's advances? What is the film actually saying about her choice, and what's it saying about her fiance's? Is it his role just to be mopey and sorry after what he did, and that's it?

Not a terrible film -- I think I liked it a little better than Ebert -- but either confused or unfinished, and way too long for the material.