Daniela Forever – TIFF 2024
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September 5 to September 15, 2024
PROGRAMME
Platform
A grieving man takes an experimental drug, which brings his dead girlfriend back to life through lucid dreams in Daniela Forever. Nick (Henry Golding) is a British DJ living in Madrid, who is in a depressed funk after his Italian girlfriend Daniela (Beatrice Grannò) is killed in a hit-and-run. Nick’s therapist Victoria (Nathalie Poza) refers him to a Belgian pharmaceutical company, which is conducting a secret drug trial on a pill that creates hyper-realistic lucid dreams. Nick not only finds himself reunited with Daniela but discovers that she can shape this dream work to match his desires.
Daniela Forever Synopsis
Daniela Forever is a surreal romantic dramedy written and directed by Spanish filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo (Colossal, Open Windows). The film stars Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians, The Gentlemen) as Nick, a man stuck in a depressed funk, visualized by a square Betamax-shot world. Nick agrees to participate in a lucid dreams drug trial to overcome his grief and he ends up making his late-girlfriend Daniela, played by Italian actress Beatrice Grannò (The White Lotus), the main subject of his dreams. Nick is soon shocked to discover that these dreams are evolving into a reality of their own, including Daniela reigniting a relationship with her ex-girlfriend Teresa (Aura Garrido).
My Thoughts on Daniela Forever
Daniela Forever is a film that is quite reminiscent of everything from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to Inception to even the 2012 indie romance Ruby Sparks. There comes a point in the plot of Daniela Forever, where the lucid dreams become more real than the film’s Betamax-shot reality, with Nacho Vigalondo progressively spending more time in this brightly-coloured widescreen world. Underneath all the surreal imagery of Daniela Forever is a poignant message about overcoming grief and learning when is the best time to let go.
