A Spanish teacher and her student develop an unexpected friendship in Natalie Morales’ “Language Lessons,” a COVID-era shot mumblecore production starring Mark Duplass and Morales herself. In fact, they are the only two actors we see in this film which has a narrative driven by Zoom-like chats and video voicemails. He’s Adam, his husband surprises him with weekly Spanish lessons. She’s Cariño, his online teacher, residing in Costa Rica. However, when an unexpected tragedy turns his life upside down, Adam decides to carry on with the lessons and ensuingly develops a complicated emotional bond with his teacher. It’s a classic set-up of an unlikely friendship. Cuban-American actress Morales, manages to shift the film from comedy to drama to tragedy in unexpectedly surprising ways, but it’s the actors’ heartfelt performances, with the two protagonists gradually growing fond of each other, that drive this evolving relationship drama home. This is a modern, bittersweet, honest, but slight take on the 21st-century romcom. [B-]
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