Love, Divided movie storyline. Valentina (Aitana) has just moved into her own apartment, far from her parents and her controlling ex-boyfriend, Oscar (Miguel Angel Muñoz), in Love, Divided. Trouble is, her neighbor, David (Fernando Guallar), is a recluse game developer who doesn’t leave his apartment and doesn’t want anyone on the other side of the paper-thin wall.
He’s managed to get rid of everyone who has moved into that apartment before, with scary, loud noises. Valentina stands her ground, and slowly the two start a friendship through the wall. Meanwhile, Valentina, a pianist, is prepping for a major audition, and David is trying to complete his long-gestating latest game.
Love, Divided (Spanish: Pared con Pared) is a 2024 Spanish romantic comedy film directed by Patricia Font and written by Marta Sánchez starring Aitana Ocaña and Fernando Guallar. It is a remake of 2015 French film Blind Date based on an original story by Lilou Fogli. Love, Divided was released on Netflix on April 12, 2024.
Film Review for Love, Divided
Love, Divided is a charming remake of the French romantic comedy Blind Date, set in Spain this time around. When a young pianist moves into a new apartment, she learns that her cranky neighbor is trying to drive her out because he can only work in complete silence. Eventually, they compromise on the noise, and soon after, they form a romantic relationship, without ever setting eyes on each other.
Love, Divided combines a quirky, Amélie-like fantasy-meets-reality element to all of its settings (not to mention the fact that Valentina possesses a similar childlike quality to Amélie), mixed with a dash of Love Is Blind.
Our Take: Despite the fact that Love, Divided is a light, airy, implausible love story, it does something that many films like it don’t do, which is give its characters motivation and backstory. Valentina, meek and timid, has spent her life being told what to do, overshadowed and put in her place by a domineering ex.
So, too, does David, whose commitment-phobia is rooted in a tragic loss. All of the “whys” come out eventually, which is a crucial component of creating characters instead of caricatures. Credit for that also must be given to the leads, Aitana and Fernando Guallar, who are subtle but convincing as they guide their characters toward love. And the rest of the supporting cast provides the right balance, as they all incredulously rib their two friends for creating a relationship with someone from behind a wall.
The film can’t really be categorized as a rom-com, as it’s fairly light on laughs, but it hits the same beats that a great romantic comedy should (despite having a big music number to showcase Aitana’s talent, it’s not really a musical, either), so I suppose it would be best categorized as a feel-good romance, basically a Spanish-language Hallmark movie.
And that’s not meant in a negative way, the film is charming in all the best ways, while managing to avoid being saccharine or generic. While it could have used another pass to make it a little funnier or to give David’s character some resolution of his own (his mad-scientist schtick fades away and the game he’s been designing takes a backseat to his love life), the film slowly and surely builds toward a well-earned happy ending.
Netflix’s newest romance film is nothing new when it comes to rom-coms, it’s an enemies-to-lovers trope that we have come to love and hate over the years but one that we cannot ignore. The movie focuses on the personal lives of these two individuals as well as their relationship with each other as they both tackle their inner demons in order to have a suitable character arc. In the midst they find love with each other, of course, but in a very different way.
The central romance of the story is a surprisingly heartwarming affair. Taking place across two apartments in the same building, Valentina and David’s love story is warm and watchable and in spite of not sharing the screen together for most of the runtime, they share some really cute chemistry that makes your heart flutter. Although it makes for an odd story, it’s still warm and frothy regardless. There’s also some humour in the situation that makes you smile, which is also great.
I think the biggest flaw of the movie is everything else that comes with it – the story arc is cliched and seems a bit over the top. It also tries too hard but doesn’t end up making an impact because it takes forever to get to the point. The individual storylines aren’t strong enough to keep us invested either because both of these people make you look a little sideways because they make so many bad decisions that it gets on your nerves.
Plus, our protagonist is a mix of cute nativity and male fantasy that feels out of place and makes us not relate to her. Her odd innocence feels a little forced in this day and age and unnecessary as well. On the other hand, David, the next-door anti-social geek is the perfect candidate to date this somewhat manic pixie girl with an innocence streak and is as cliched as they come. Do they look absolutely adorable together? Sure. But that’s all that this film offers, which is also a great thing.
Aitana and Fernando Guallar play our protagonists and they do justice to their roles. Both look splendid doing what little they are given for their characters. Guallar is cute and geeky and is exactly what you’d expect him to be while Spanish singer Aitana,
Love Divided has all the classical traits of a rom-com filled to the brim with the cliches that make this genre. It isn’t able to nail the landing but it does keep you mildly invested in the cute romance and the frothy feelings, along with Aitana’s magical voice and beautiful hair that I one day strive to be able to take care of!
Love, Divided (2024)
Pared con Pared
Directed by: Patricia Font
Starring: Aitana, Fernando Guallar, Fernando Guallar, Paco Tous, Adam Jezierski, Miguel Ángel Muñoz, Àlex Maruny, Maite Sandoval, Rocío Marín, Manu Imizcoz, Eduardo Ferrés, Macarena de Rueda
Screenplay by: Marta Sánchez
Production Design by: Ana Alvargonzález
Cinematography by: Bernat Bosch
Film Editing by: Dani Arregui
Art Direction by: Ana Alvargonzález
Makeup Department: David Huerga
Music by: Arnau Bataller
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Netflix
Release Date: April 12. 2024
Views: 18
