You'll Know What To Do With Me

"You'll Know What To Do With Me"
at Projector on 2 June 2017,
as part of the Mexican Film Festival Singapore
Post screening discussion with director, Katina Medina Mora (one up for female directors)

I thought it was a great film in the sense of narrative style, cinematography and development of character.

Film begins with a pan of the underwater in clear blue palette that hints at freedom.

Next we see lights in stripes which is Nicholas point of view as he is wheeled in for an brain check. Results are ok and it is in the hospital that he meets Isabel who is visiting her mother who has yet again attempted suicide. He zooms in on her exquisite neck and takes a photo of her as a pick-up liner and invites to the opening of his photography exhibition. He is a lecturer of photography and comments on the photographic image ability to freeze that moment to capture something. For him he wants to capture that moment of life and living. It's quite beauty and poetic and the black and white photos look surreal. In the after exhibition party he expresses interest in meeting her by giving a riddle to solve something about page 425. In his home, she comes on hard and urgent, initiating all the making out and wanting to exert control. He rejects that and she leaves. In the next scene he brings her for scuba diving lessons in the swimming pool. To him this is the place where he feels most at peace. That deafening silence. She gives up on the scuba diving. They end up in his house next where he prepares dinner and they quarrel about their differences in interests and beliefs. She leaves but return and they make slow fulfilling love to each other. He has an epileptic seizure in the middle of the night and camera cuts to a recount of the above experiences from Isabel's point of view.

There ​are subtle differences and camera angles and we found out that in shooting Nicholas's viewpoint, they keep the camera fixed, for Isabel's, they use a handheld camera to reflect the unsteadiness of her character and in the final chapter when they get together, they shoot using a steady rolling camera.

She lost her brother at 16, her dad left them because of that and her mom tries to commit suicide every two weeks. Sure actually threw away Nicholas's exhibition opening invite and it was her friend who invited her down for it. Right after this hospital scene, she goes to Angel's place for sexual release before meeting her friend, who invited her to the exhibition. I think she bought one of the works, which is a female lounging in a bath tub, which I think is get mother but that's logically impossible. Maybe it's a hint of their intertwined fate? She was real depressed after I think another attempt of suicide and dates Nicholas at a club. Real drunk they head back to his place where he fends her desperate attempts to feel something.

It's interesting because both have issues linked to mortality and both handle it very differently. Despite his brain tumour, Nicholas lives life to the full, scuba dives and is one with nature and himself. Isabel is constantly seeking sexual release, is unable to confront her mom about the death of his brother even though it has been 17 years since his passing!

Their love blossoms and she takes on to scuba diving, adopts his outlook of life, slows down and enjoys every day. Board games, helping her mom, who is a seemingly weak woman but so intense in her gaze. I think while helping her mom, Nicholas used this opportunity to capture her mom in the bathtub and that look of light and strength... One cannot tell she's depressed and suicidal.

The ripple effect of life and real love. They seek treatment for tumour and quarrel over the surgical solution. Escalating quarrel at the car park which surprisingly breaks off on a light hearted note about the search for car keys. They talk about Nicholas's insecurity over losing all this good things. Isabel's character grows to be a giving one in their love making relationship.

Nicholas packs up his photographs and we hear a playback of doctor's appointment by Isabel upon their return from a trip together. They have a wonderful dives together and chats of the future with family, babies and building a life together. However, he has an epileptic seizure while diving and dies due to lack of oxygen. The ocean now contains a part of him and we see label going out to sea again, alone this time, to be with him.

We see many kinds of love in this film. Obsessive love, living to the full, self-giving love, pitying love, filial love Also grieve or inability to grieve, hatred, inability to let go, crave for more, loneliness as an individual, as a migrant, as one without family, as one that has a family but seems like they are not alive.

All based on true stories from the director, her screenwriters and the actresses and actors.

When Isabel is able to have her inner demons, she summons the courage to speak about it with her mom and Isabel gains peace and freedom, which I read from her ability to scuba dive and smoking less.

Honestly I don't believe one can change his or her spot. Contact me if you have stories of otherwise.