A tender, playful look at the intimate lives of the elderly, this third feature from Jhonny Hendrix Hinestroza finds the director looking both abroad and backward in time for inspiration. Set in Havana in 1994, Candelaria concerns a septuagenarian couple whose wearying routine is alleviated by the unexpected appearance of a novel piece of technology.
Victor Hugo works in a cigar factory; Candelaria is a hotel laundress and singer. When Candelaria comes upon an abandoned camcorder she and Victor Hugo start to discover its possibilities for posterity, expression—and the revival of romance. The camera’s lens becomes an extension of Victor Hugo’s eye, allowing him to really see his wife for the first time in years—at least until the camcorder is stolen, an event which leads the couple into territory neither could have imagined.
