Our take
Middle-aged romances aren't really a popular genre. After all, it tends to be predictable, problematic, and it can sometimes feel like seeing your parents have sex. Other films try to spice it up with a great looking location, pretty cinematography, and all the romance tropes, and Croatian-German film Faraway has plenty of that in store. However, it also happens to be a film where a middle-aged woman finds solace with her Croatian mom’s culture, after years of assimilating to the countries of her dad, and later, her husband. While not perfect, Faraway feels so charming and it has the rare sincerity missing from many middle-aged romcoms.
Synopsis
Zeynap Altin is at the end of her tether: she works far too much and is not valued at all by her husband, daughter and father. To make matters worse, the funeral home dressed her beloved late mother in a man's suit instead of her favorite dress. Enough is enough: Zeynep flees from Munich to the previously unknown holiday home on a Croatian island that her mother secretly bought years ago - with the hope of finding quiet, peace and herself there. If only the previous owner Josip, a rough islander, didn't still live on the same property and annoy her with his views and wisdom.
Storyline
Tired of her family’s lack of appreciation, Zeynep Altin leaves Munich in order to reclaim the house her mother left behind. She could successfully sell it off, if only the current resident, Josip Cega, is willing to relocate.
TLDR
You know how in the 2000s, there were more middle-aged romances that were slightly problematic, but still had some charm? Here’s the anti-Airbnb, cottagecore, Croatia tourism ad version.
What stands out
Faraway is a cheesy, cliché romcom, and even with the genre’s bad rep, the film unashamedly leans into it. This film has the charming meet-cute, the initial biting back-and-forth, and yes, even the love triangle (though, it’s more of a complicated web than a triangle). However, the film grounds these tropes with real-life issues that’s rarely seen on screen. Sure, the main couple is the standard enemies-to-lovers trope, but wouldn’t anyone be instant enemies if they’re set to sell your home to the highest bidder just so they can rent it to some tourist? And sure, the underappreciated mom isn’t new, but has any film talked about how mixed culture families oftentimes sacrifice the mom’s culture to assimilate to the dad’s? While the film could have better balanced these topics with the romance, Faraway still manages a sincere depiction of these issues.