Brush past the terrible English title (also sometimes written as “That Was Life” which is marginally more comprehensible but still needlessly generic) and David Martín de los Santos‘ debut feature, titled in Spanish “La Vida Era Eso,” awaits to unfurl its superbly performed, constantly surprising, deeply moving series of everyday miracles on you. Starting off as an odd-couple drama, morphing into a later-life journey of self-discovery while taking a couple of detours into offbeat platonic romance territory, this Transilvania International Film Festival competition film is really a salutary valentine to sudden, unlikely friendships springing forth between strangers, creating unexpected oases of hope and discovery within the desert of everyday routine.

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