Esteros -2016- -

The film cuts between two timelines. In the 1990s, childhood best friends Matías and Jerónimo spend a carefree summer vacation in the rural esteros. Their innocent friendship blossoms into a fumbling, tender sexual awakening. But when Matías’s father gets a job offer in Brazil, the boys are cruelly separated. Years later, in their late 20s, Matías (now a reserved aspiring biologist) returns to the esteros for a local festival with his girlfriend. There, he is reunited with Jerónimo, who has grown into a free-spirited, openhearted young man living in the family home. The old spark, repressed for over a decade, immediately reignites.

★★★½ (3.5/5)

The film’s greatest strength is its sensory immersion. Curotto’s camera loves the golden-hour light filtering through reeds, the murky water clinging to bare skin, and the lazy buzz of insects. You can feel the humidity. This isn't just aesthetic; the swamp becomes a character—a place of primal authenticity, untouched by the rigid rules of the city. It’s where the boys could be honest, and where the men must return to find themselves. Esteros -2016-