After a year-long hiatus, the Moro Spanish Film Festival returns this month with a programme brimming with some of the best productions to come out of Spain and Latin America over the past year or so.
One of the featured films is 'Wishlist', which follows the adventures of three women who have been drawn together through adversity.
'Wishlist' begins when veterinarian Eva (María León) discovers a lump in her breast. Eva's best friend Mar (who has issues of her own) pledges her support and vows to stand by her friend as she faces the challenge of dealing with cancer.
At her first round of treatment, Eva meets Carmen (Victoria Abril), a middle aged woman who has been battling the disease for more than 20 years.
The two strike up a friendship as they spend their treatment days side by side, with Carmen bringing some much-needed positivity to their otherwise grim circumstances.
Indeed, it is Carmen's refreshing outlook on life that gives this movie much of its charm and makes it so endearing.
At the end of their chemo sessions, they face a long and arduous wait for their test results, but rather than sit around fearing the worse, Carmen suggests they each draw up a bucket list of three things they'd like to do and set off to accomplish them.
Mar (Silvia Alonso), who is dealing with the collapse of her long-term relationship, is invited to join them, and while all three are somewhat disillusioned with life, love and the cruel hand of fate, they enthusiastically embark on a week-long road trip that starts in Seville and careens through Morocco via Cadiz.
While each of the women are facing their own unique challenges, they are committed to helping each other fulfil their bucket lists.
This not only draws them closer together, but liberates them from the constraints of societal norms and as each day unfolds they become more and more reckless and their behaviour more outrageous.
With absolutely no filter on their conduct, the road trip soon descends into unbridled mayhem.
Although this film could easily have slipped into maudlin territory it manages to shake off the ever present threat of looming mortality with a deftly crafted script that balances the harsh realities of life with colour, light and absurdist humour.
In between the madcap situations they find themselves in, 'Wishlist' delivers some genuinely heartfelt moments as each of the women finds (or rediscovers) the power of love and the strength of the unshakeable bond between them.
When released in 2020, 'Wishlist' was inevitably compared with 'Thelma & Louise' and while both films feature strong women staring down their fate, 'Wishlist' is a portrait of indomitable courage, proving you can take control of destiny itself if you're determined enough.
'Wishlist' is delightfully funny and well worth seeing and you’ll most likely walk away ready to take a leap into the unknown, not because you want to but because now you know you can.
★★★★☆
Spanish Film Festival takes place nationally at Palace Cinemas.
Spanish Film Festival 2021 Dates
Sydney: 20 Apr to 9 MayCanberra: 21 Apr to 9 May
Melbourne: 22 Apr to 9 May
Adelaide: 27 Apr to 16 May
Perth: 28 Apr to 16 May
Brisbane: 28 Apr to 16 May
Byron Bay: 29 Apr to 12 May
