Summer is usually a perfect time to release movies and series, as there is much more time to go to the cinema or sit in front of the television. The best proof of this is currently happening in theaters, where we are more than satisfied with movies like Indiana Jones, Barbie, or Nolan’s latest. However, we are also having some great series premieres, from The Witcher to one that is starting to make a buzz for being amazing: Poquita Fe.
Produced by Buendía Estudios and distributed by Movistar Plus+, the synopsis of this fiction is as ordinary as it gets. Berta (Esperanza Pedreño) and José Ramón (Raúl Cimas) form a couple where the word “normal” stands out the most. He works as a security guard, she works in a daycare center. They have a rented apartment, eat tapas at the bar downstairs, and visit their parents occasionally. The lives of millions of people around the world, nothing more. However, here lies the key to this fiction, as through the everydayness, a discourse is built where humor and a dose of drama intertwine to tell a wonderful comedy.
Poquita Fe makes monotony its premise. Going out to eat with the in-laws, Christmas sweets, trivial problems at work, and countless other situations shape the plot of this Movistar+ series. But it portrays these moments not to criticize them, but to allow the viewer to see themselves reflected in them and question whether they actually enjoy the life they lead.
This is quite evident in the character of José Ramón. For him, everything is fine, and the vicissitudes of life don’t affect him: he doesn’t see any problems. Berta, on the other hand, realizes that this monotony is eroding her future prospects, draining her energy, and extinguishing her joy, leaving her feeling bored. However, she has normalized being “the other woman” to her parents, her sister ignoring her, and accepting her lackluster life with her husband as it is. She wants to change it, but she can’t take that step forward. And here comes the catalyst for all of Poquita Fe: if he is content and doesn’t notice that something is wrong, while she sees it but remains silent, how can they expect everything to work and move forward?
The performances by Cimas and Pedreño, accompanied by an exceptional supporting cast, bring this weariness to the screen with a smile from ear to ear, but also with the question of “Is this who I am?” Amidst the messages conveyed, the series introduces those more histrionic moments that one can experience in their daily life. It amplifies them and takes them to the point of absurdity, to a certain caricatured extent.
Following the style of Pantomima Full – but without the devastating captions, which are implicitly part of the discourse – the series interweaves scenes where the characters speak to an interviewer who records them with the actual situations in their lives. It adopts the codes of mockumentary, though with peculiarities such as the characters not being aware of the camera’s presence in their life moments (unlike in The Office, for example). However, this doesn’t matter because the format works brilliantly. The fast-paced and lively editing, with intercutting of characters involved in those situations, fits perfectly with the message that is conveyed in episodes that last just over fifteen minutes, released once a month (from January to December, twelve episodes in total). It is a daring gamble, but the result is incredible.
Poquita Fe works wonders because it’s nothing more than life itself brought to the screen. Sometimes, seeing oneself represented in certain fictional characters is more painful than the harshest criticism from someone we know. Because here, there’s no one directly challenging your discourse; instead, it’s strangers existing only on a screen who are saying that your life is also miserable. But it’s important to take it in stride, with the humor of the monotony that surrounds life itself. Poquita Fe is about seeing oneself reflected and laughing until it brings tears, feeling represented at some point. Because if you can’t laugh at yourself, then you truly have a problem.
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