Tarde Para Morir Joven

Pensive and amiable coming of age drama lacks an overall spark that makes its more familiar elements a little more noticeable – it’s well performed (Hernandez and Oviedo’s delicate dance around each other is an especially well-captured and tasteful evocation of an inappropriate crush), and its setting against the backdrop of communal life during Chilean political strife is novel, though not a great deal is done with this relatively unique setting. Castillo’s writing certainly has the feel of authenticity, but she can never quite escape the genre tropes. Still worthwhile.