Without Saying Goodbye จนกว่าจะพบกันอีก (2022) [บรรยายไทย]

A wealthy young, handsome boy comes to a place to convert it into a multimillion property to fulfill his dream project. Still, a girl comes into the picture, resisting this and changing the boy by giving him another perspective to live in the world. I think we are all familiar with this kind of narrative, more or less. This same old story of self-discovery is the subject of the Netflix film Without Saying Goodbye.

It is a romantic drama film directed by Peruvian director Bruno Ascenzo and stars Maxi Iglesias and Stephanie Cayo. A very straightforward narrative about the budding romance between these two opposite characters is the story’s central premise. Though the leads share good chemistry, the handling of the romance is cliched and outdated. After seeing it, I can recall several Bollywood films from the past resembling the similar dynamics between the love interests. There is a bit of Bunny in Ariana (Stephanie Cayo’s character), Arjun in Salvador (Maxi Iglesias’s character), and the elements of the Imtiaz Ali films in the movie. But the problem here is that the situation and moments are drably executed and do not give any excitement to see on the screen.

The screenplay is fast and to the point. But to do so, it races from scene to scene before it transcends to you. Though it doesn’t bore you and keep going without dragging, it falters in the basics of filmmaking — capturing the emotions on the screen. The characters talk too much in the film, sometimes too unnecessarily, which often becomes quite difficult for me to follow in the subtitles.

Among the performances, Maxi Iglesias’s acting works for me. He maintains both the decorum of a wealthy businessman aura and the searcher for the meaning of life quite well. But the other half of the lead pair, Stephanie Cayo, disappoints me greatly. She looks gorgeous like a diva in the movie, but in the most pivotal scenes, where the acting prowess is needed, she falters the most. Her dialogue delivery also seems quite pretentious and has no conviction.

The one thing in my opinion that stands out throughout the movie is the desirable locations of Peru and similar gorgeous cinematography that captures that. Also, the use of music in the film is good. It is used in exact moments, making us feel something about the characters otherwise lacking the emotional buildup.