Blue Eyelids

Romances don't get more low-key than this. Marina and Victor may end up together but it's not exactly optimistic. They seem to have very little in common apart from their loneliness. Conversations are punctuated by agonizing silences or repeated exchanges. Victor constantly asks about their fellow students but Marina can't remember any of them, not even him. Victor though recognizes her immediately although he comments that she seemed much happier back then. There's no obvious reason why either character should be as isolated as they are. Both are presentable, if poor, but Marina in particular seems crippled by shyness. Desperation rather than attraction prompts her to phone Victor after their initial meeting. You just know that if her sister had agreed to accompany her on the prize holiday, she never would have called him. Victor meanwhile does seem to be genuinely attracted to her despite her lack of much personality. They might have hopes that life will resemble the overblown romantic film they watch together but instead it's rife with disappointments: being ejected from a good table at a bar; a picnic that descends into uncomfortable silence; unsatisfactory sex. Nevertheless, Victor's anger at being stood up for the holiday is shortlived while a repentant Marina wishes she'd had his company. The jump from a reconciliation to an immediate proposal of marriage is both ridiculous (logic says it can't last) and somehow touching (maybe at last they've finally connected with another person) Maybe it is, after all, a happy ending.