The Time It Takes Review: A Story Of Love And Separation In An Unprecedented Short-Format | El Tiempo Que Te Doy

Director: Inés Pinto, Pablo Santidrián, Pablo Fernández

Cast: Nadia de Santiago, Álvaro Cervantes, David Castillo

Steaming Platform: Netflix

Ratings: 3/5 (three star) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Available for streaming on October 29 The Time It Takes (El Tiempo Que Te Doy) is a new Netflix production that stands out for being the first TV series in the catalog to experiment with the short format, with episodes of just eleven minutes in length. The show brings to the screen the love story between Lina and Nico, showing us on the one hand how the two guys meet and fall in love, on the other hand how they overcome their breakup. Two timelines to which a precise space of the eleven minutes available is dedicated: as you proceed with the narration, in fact, the present takes precedence over past events. As we will see in our review of The Time It Takes, written and co-produced by Nadia de Santiago, also interpreter of Lina, the series allows the viewer to reflect in a feeling that everyone, at least once in their life, has experienced. But also to realize that, however hard it may be, getting over a breakup is only a matter of time.

The Time It Takes Review: The Story

Lina and Nico are two guys like many others, who like many others meet by chance, end up falling in love and, unfortunately, breaking up in the end. But we know them already at the end of their love, when they have both taken two different paths. The story of Lina (Nadia de Santiago) and Nico (Álvaro Cervantes) is told following two different timelines: that of the present and that of the past. In the present Lina is still obsessed with the memory of Nico while in the past we see how the two young people, first madly in love, slowly begin to move away until they reach a definitive separation. But as the narrative progresses, the present takes over past events and we watch Lina regain control of her own life. He does so by deciding to think one minute less about his old love every day, with the aim of being able to forget him. In fact, the peculiarity of The Time It Takes lies in the fact that it is composed of short episodes that lead us to travel through time, gradually dedicating more and more space to the rebirth of the protagonist. In the first episode, for example,

The Review and Analysis

The one told in The Time It Takes is a universal story, a story in which anyone, to a greater or lesser extent, can identify with. Precisely in the light of this, it is clear that the aim of the series is to send a message to the spectators, especially to those who are in the same situation as the protagonists. Getting over the end of a love story, however difficult it may seem, is only a matter of time; initially we see Lina obsessed with the memory of Nico and the thought of what she should or shouldn’t have done but, as the days go by, the present moment takes over and our protagonist regains control over her life, making important choices to personal and professional level. Also very important is the fact that, on the show, Lina and Nico are put on the same level: there are no culprits, there is no real person responsible for the end of their story. There is only a couple who loved each other very much but who in the end were no longer able to remain together due to external circumstances or life goals that can no longer be reconciled. All this helps to accept and normalize even very painful events such as that of a breakup.

Although the unpublished short format of the series certainly represents an original and interesting choice, perhaps 11 minutes per episode are still too few to be able to deepen certain aspects. As we have already said, the emotions put into play are realistic and allow the viewer to recognize themselves in them. But what it is difficult to empathize with are the leading actors; this is because the short time available does not allow an adequate study of the characters of which it always seems to know too little. An aspect that, once the vision of the ten episodes is over, leaves the viewer with an annoying feeling of incompleteness.

The Final Words

As we saw in our review of The Time It Takes El Tiempo Que Te Doy, the Spanish TV series written and starring Nadia de Santiago comes in a completely new format: 10 episodes lasting 11 minutes each. Despite the brevity of the episodes, the emotions put into play allow the viewer to recognize themselves in them and to normalize the process of elaborating an intense pain like that of the end of a love story. At the same time, however, 11 minutes seems perhaps a little too short to allow the deepening of the main characters, of which we would have liked to know a little more.

What We Liked

• Unpublished and interesting short format.
• A story in which it is easy to recognize yourself.

What Didn’t

• Poor insight into the characters.