There are few experiences more fraught than cleaning out a house after a close family member’s death. At best, you get into a few squabbles with your relatives that resolve quickly but breed a quiet resentment, at worst, the disagreements end in screaming and tears. That fertile ground for drama is the subject of writer-director Diana Peralta’s new film De Lo Mio, which closed BAMCinemaFest last night.
The film begins with sisters Rita (Sascha Merci) and Carolina aka Caro (Darlene Demorizi) waiting for their brother, Dante (Hé tor Aníbal), to pick them up from the airport. There’s obviously some sort of tension behind Dante’s lateness, but it’s unclear what until we learn that the girls were raised by their father in New York City while Dante grew up with their grandparents in the DR. That tension becomes even more evident when Dante suddenly reveals that not only do they have only 5 days to clean up the house, but that the buyers plan to level the house completely.
Though the tension of that impending destruction of their family history hangs over the whole film before breaking open in the final act, much of De Lo Mio is about subtly establishing who the characters are and their interpersonal dynamics in the context of that tension. Where Dante is quick-tempered and brooding, the girls are talkative and playful and much of the film’s enjoyment comes from just watching them interact.
While scenes where they fight over who will blow out the candles before bed or braiding each other’s hair are charming, perhaps the best scene comes when the girls are cleaning out their grandmother’s closet. As Carolina tries on various wigs and a pantsuit, Rita puts on some jewelry and a fur coat. As Carolina jokes that they look like versions of their grandmother across decades, it’s easy to imagine the life of that absent grandmother and how the girls viewed her as kids. There and throughout, it’s the subtle family connections and natural chemistry the actors share that makes De Lo Mio feel both compelling and realistic.
Given that, it’s a little frustrating that when the tension finally builds to its climax, the narrative construction feels a little too evident. Dante’s major plot thread outside of cleaning the house is the tense relationship he shares with the mother of his son and it’s that thread that pushes him to finally yell at his sisters. The resulting scene is brutal and honest, but it also feels a little unearned and the resulting resolution feels a bit too easy. That said, considering how nasty such disputes can be in the real world, Peralta can be for given for taking license with reality to give her film a more satisfying and complete emotional climax.
Rather, if De Lo Mio has any flaw, it’s that it doesn’t end at the point it should. The core story is one of catharsis and understanding between siblings and the film reaches that moment well before the house is actually ready to sell. And while it makes sense to tie off that plot thread, the real moment of beautiful release from old resentments comes a few minutes earlier, when Carolina and Dante share a silent moment of connection in front of a picturesque waterfall.
Still, even if Peralta ends her film a little too late, it’s hard to complain about spending just a bit more time with these characters. Merci, Demorizi and Aníbal give such grounded, compelling performances that Rita, Carolina and Dante feels like watching childhood friends. Sure, they figure things out on their own, but grief is hard and even after knowing them for such little time, it’s hard not to imagine reaching out to help.
