A Bench in the Park

Juan is a bit of a prat when it comes to relationships. When his girlfriend goes to study in London, his pride demands he finish with her, even though he immediately feels lost and lonely. He's too proud, too, to be paired off by pals, so he decides to spend a little time in the park every day, on the very same bench, in the hope of meeting someone. Indeed, he reckons, doing the same in a bar will double his chance of success. Absurd - but quite right, as it turns out, and then the problems really start. If this sounds a little reminiscent of Rohmer, it is (there's even a verbal allusion to The Green Ray), and all the better for it. A beautifully unsentimental low key comedy of manners, full of delicious ironies, engagingly acted, and written and directed with real intelligence and insight.