Iair Said, the writer, director, and star of the queer Argentinian movie “Most People Die on Sundays” (Big World Pictures), deserves our admiration. In 72 minutes, he makes us run the gamut of emotions, sometimes in the same scene.
When we first encounter overweight gay man David (Said), he is in a hotel room, on the opposite side of a closed bathroom door, desperately pleading with his boyfriend not to leave him. The next thing you see is David leaving, with two toothbrushes, dragging a suitcase through the sand at the beach before going for a swim.
A grad student studying abroad, David is a sad sack with complicated needs. His preparations for a flight home to Buenos Aires are one example. Once he lands, he’s met by his sister Elisa (Juliana Gattas), and they begin discussing their Uncle Poncho’s upcoming funeral. Elisa wanted David to be there to support his mother, Dora (Rita Cortese), and Poncho’s sister, Aunt Silvia (Antonia Zegers). David’s comatose father, Bernardo (Mario Bodega), has been hospitalized for months, and David thinks the relatives at the funeral treated him and Elisa as if they were the next ones to suffer a loss.
David also has an insatiable sexual appetite. He doesn’t have a driver's license, and during a driving lesson, he attempts to kiss the male driving instructor and is rebuffed. Twice. To hit on his mother’s hot next-door neighbor, he intentionally locks himself out of her apartment — in his underwear — no less, so he can knock on the neighbor’s door and ask to use his phone. He also cruises a doctor at the clinic where his father is receiving care, even going so far as to follow him into the bathroom. For the record, nothing comes of David’s clumsy attempts at connection.
Home in time to observe Passover with his family (and celebrate his niece’s birthday), David manages to keep himself in check. Following the Seder, David and a gay cousin head off to a party, which results in him crashing his mother’s car and injuring his neck. It’s one of a string of uncomfortable events, including Dora’s sprained ankle, an awkward voicemail message David sends his ex, the difficult decision to take Bernardo off life support, and bizarre negotiations at a fast-food drive-thru, that might possibly remind some viewers of early Almodóvar. But Said is not Almodóvar and vice versa. Said is his own original filmmaker, and I, for one, look forward to seeing more from him. In Spanish with English subtitles.
Rating: B-
