Arranca (2024)

Coping with the conditions of aging and loss is a theme with which we and our families must all eventually contend. Director Liliana M. Molina’s debut production, based on her own family circumstances, follows the challenges of Laura (Cristina Soler), the long-suffering adopted daughter of Carmen (Johanna Rosaly), her elderly mother, who’s in the early stages of dementia. Laura diligently endeavors to help her ailing mom, especially in her often-volatile dealings with her kindly caretaker, Norma (Magali Carrasquillo), the latest in a string of providers who have found Carmen to be too much to handle. In particular, Carmen routinely accuses Norma of various wrongdoings, such as theft of her belongings, allegations that Laura generally attributes to her mother’s failing faculties (and that, thankfully, Norma brushes off without hesitation). But is Carmen’s mental decline everything it appears to be? As this delicious little film shows, with age comes wisdom, and that’s something that may not vanish as readily as everyone might think.