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Review of “80 Days” (“80 Egunean”)

Spanish writers/directors Jon Garano and Jose Mari Goenaga took on an ambitious project when they wrote 80 Days (80 egunean). The film follows Axun, a 70-year-old housewife, and is set in Basque Country, a rural area of Spain. What happens to Axun over the course of 80 days is something you wouldn’t think that two men might necessarily be able to write and deliver believably. But with the help of actresses Itziar Aizpuru and Mariasun Pagoaga, they do just that.

Caution: Spoilers ahead.

In the very beginning of the film, a man and woman are in a serious accident. We meet Axun (Aizpuru) after she fields a phone call from the hospital. The woman in the car has died, but the man in the car is in a coma, and he is Axun’s daughter’s ex-husband. And apparently, he has no one else interested in his well-being.

Despite her daughter and husband pleading her not to visit, Axun is bored and feels as if she must do the right thing, so she makes the trip into the city to visit Mikel in his coma. Upon reaching the room, she sees that Mikel is, though unconscious, part of a birthday party. With a party hat on his head and balloons surrounding him, Axun finds that he is celebrating the birthday of his roommate, another comatose man, whose sister is playing host.

We find out that the woman is Maite (Pagoaga), a playful woman around Axun’s age who apologizes for just having good fun. After the women make pleasantries, they discover they were once friends as young girls. Pagoaga at 70 appears much younger than Axun, stylish and smiley with less reserve. But upon finding that they used to giggle and dance together in their parents’ houses, Axun slowly begins to open up, and both women share the excitement of reconnecting.

As soon as Maite is around a man, though, we quickly find out he (Julian) is just a friend. Maite is an out lesbian, and she tells Julian she thinks she might have been in love with Axun, though it was a long time ago. Julian asks if it’s possible the feelings were mutual, but Maite dismisses his question.

Axun returns to the hospital every day under the guise of visiting Mikel. Of course, this continues to upset her family, who enjoy reminding her that Mikel is not part of their family anymore. But Axun is having too much fun with Maite, and they reminisce, share thoughts and feelings and find they enjoy each others’ company more than anyone else in their lives.

Soon they start venturing outside of the hospital, taking in a night at the cinema, where tension is apparent as Axun nuzzles her head into Maite’s arm during a scary part of the film. And when they run into Axun’s niece, Garazi, outside of the theater, Maite is reminded of their platonic friendship when Axun lies and says they were not at the movies, but had just come from the hospital.

A pivotal point happens at the end of the first month, when Maite takes Axun to a small island that she finds quite beautiful. Axun becomes, by her own admission, tipsy on wine and tells Axun, “I like who I am when I’m with you. I feel like the real me.” Maite is silent, staring out into the ocean, before telling Axun “You’re drunk.” But Axun persists, asking if there’s anyone that Maite feels that way about. Maite tells Axun to lie down on the blanket and sunbathe, obviously flustered and not sure how to react.

But after they both lie down to close their eyes, Maite begins reminiscing of a kiss they shared as girls. In the flashbacks, Maite is wearing her dad’s suits and she’s twirling a young Azun around before they begin talking about kissing and their lack of experience. And then the young girls kiss, sweetly, which brings Maite back to the island, staring down onto the lips of her friend.

She slowly leans in to kiss Axun, who allows it for only a second before moving out of the way. She wants to leave, and they do, but only after a series of complications that only makes things more awkward, including the boat getting stuck and the two women falling into the water. Luckily, they are rescued when Maite is able to maintain a cell signal and call for help.

Axun doesn’t know how to process her feelings. While talking with her daughter on the phone, she finds out that her niece Garazi is a lesbian. “It’s fashionable now, isn’t it?” Axun asks, as if she’s contemplating becoming part of the fad. It’s a comical moment in which Axun’s daughter rolls her eyes, maintaining being a lesbian is just normal for some people.

Even if it is all the rage, though, Axun tells Maite “I’m not one of those!” the next time she sees her. Maite can’t help but laugh when Axun says, “I forgive you, for what you did to me.”

The two women maintain a platonic friendship for a short time, but even as friends their chemistry is undeniable. After one night at the hospital, full of fun camaraderie, Maite invites Axun over to her house. Axun calls her husband and lies to him, saying she is staying the night at the hospital. He is now suspecting something is up, and calls the hospital, where they say no one is in the room. He later goes up to the hospital to check it out for himself, only to find the nurse was telling the truth.

While at Maite’s, Axun admires photos of her and an ex-lover, who Maite says grew sick of being in the closet. “It was a long time ago,” she says, sitting down next to Axun. Sitting so closely brings them to the inevitable: Maite takes her lips to Axun’s neck, and they begin to get intimate. It’s a short scene that you knew had to come, and the pay off is a gentle touching scene in which Axun looks truly happy.

Of course, you know the happy doesn’t last for long. They have a nice morning together, but Axun returns home to her husband feeling upset. He tells Axun she cannot go to the hospital again and that he needs her to be home to cook for him. Axun is furious and says they don’t spend any time together, that she is only there to serve him.

Axun feels guilty, and she tells Maite they can’t see each other anymore. Maite says it’ll be easier now, because her brother has finally awakened from his coma and he is moving to another facility. They share a moment of looking at one another sadly, both silently acknowledging the battle is lost.

But since we’re not yet to day 80, we know it’s not. Maite is retiring as a music teacher, and her students are performing a recital in tribute to her. Axun decides she must go, but the only way to get past her husband is to say she’s going to the hospital. He says he will accompany her, and she has no choice but to actually go and wait him out. He finally leaves, but only to wait in the car and find out where she’s really going. He follows her cab to the recital, where he waits in the parking lot.

The recital is almost over by the time Axun arrives, and she sees Maite’s friend, Julian, standing outside the doors with flowers, obviously for Maite. Axun tells Julian she must go, but asks him to give Maite the gift she brought her. She runs outside, but Juilan follows and they speak emotively, leading her husband to see a passionate discussion from his spot in the car. As Julian is telling Axun to stay, her husband walks up to punch Julian in the jaw. The recital is letting out and everyone is exiting, which is lucky for Julian, as two men are able to hold Axun’s husband back. Maite is inside the doors, taking it all in.

On the car ride home, Axun’s husband calls her a whore, despite her telling him he doesn’t know what’s going on. She gets out of the car suddenly, and he follows her telling her it’s OK – he forgives her. Axun seems to have a moment of clarity, knowing that if her husband can forgive what he thinks is her being intimate with another man, he obviously doesn’t love her, just what she can do for him. But he tells her he knows he doesn’t have much time left, using guilt to convince her to stay.

At home that night, Maite takes out her gift from Axun and finds an embroidered portrait of the island they shared their first kiss on. It’s a lovely piece that Maite is quite taken with.

On Day 80, there is a funeral. It’s for Mikel, who has finally passed away. Maite is there, and gives her condolences to Axun, asking if they can meet for coffee soon. Axun says no and watches Maite leave. She breaks down sobbing in the car with her daughter and her husband, who think she’s just upset about Mikel. Her daughter can’t believe they are burying her ex-husband in their mausoleum and yells at her mother, who screams back for her to stop. Axun keeps all her of her feelings inside, and it’s finally reached a point where she can’t ignore them anymore. They come pouring out in the form of tears, never to be spoken to anyone.

In the last scene of the film, it’s day 974, so a few years have passed. The two women run into one another by chance again, but how will it play out this time?

While 80 Days can be somewhat slow at times, the dialogue is fresh and fun, with the ages of the women being irrelevant at most points. The only time it is at the forefront is when viewers are asked to consider how long Axun has lived unhappily, taking care of her husband before herself. She lights up upon seeing Maite, and their conversations are enjoyable to watch. While both women seem suited for their specific roles, their actual chemistry could have been a little stronger. But their acting makes up for the lack of sexual tension at some crucial moments.

For a story about two elderly women in a tug of war lesbian romance, Jon Garano and Jose Mari Goenaga have produced an exceptional film.

“80 Days” is currently screening at international film festivals. Check out 80egunean.com for info on where it’s playing near you.

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