Being or Not Being (Spanish: Estar o No Estar) is a 2015 Mexican drama film, directed by Marcelo González. The film stars Flavio Medina and Aislinn Derbez and was filmed in Tlacotalpan, Veracruz and Xalapa in the Mexican state of Veracruz. In the film, Augusto (Medina) is a forty-six years old single man who relocates to another city following his mother's passing. He meets Nástenska (Derbez) and falls in love with her. The film is González first feature film and received six nominations for the 2017 Diosas de Plata awards winning for Best Supporting Actress (Tiaré Scanda) and Best Cinematography (Jerónimo Rodríguez García).[1][2]

Being or Not Being
Mexican theatrical release poster
Estar o No Estar
Directed byMarcelo González
Screenplay byMarcelo González
Produced byEduardo J. Villarreal
Starring
CinematographyJerónimo Rodríguez Garcia
Edited byRoberto Bolado
Music byOsvaldo Montes
Release dates
  • March 9, 2015 (2015-03-09) (Guadalajara International Film Festival)
  • September 9, 2016 (2016-09-09)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryMexico
LanguageSpanish

Plot

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Augusto (Flavio Medina) is a forty-six year-old single man who decided to move from his hometown Xalapa to Tlacotalpan after his mother's death. He rents a room in a pension and meets a neighbor named Ludivina (Tiaré Scanda) who becomes his friend. When he is alone in the room, his mother's ghost (Patricia Reyes Spíndola) appears on his mirror and continually scolds him.

He meets Nástenska (Aislinn Derbez), a waitress in a local restaurant run by her godmother (Angélica Aragón), and becomes infatuated with her. They become friends and she invites him to watch her playing Roxanne in the play Cyrano of Bergerac at a local theater in Veracruz; the same night she celebrates her birthday and after a dinner party, they walk on a beach and end up making love.

The following day, Mauricio (Gonzalo García Vivanco), Nástenska's boyfriend, returns to the city after spending one year on a boat and she decides to elope with him. Augusto falls into depression after her departure and Ludivina takes advantage to comfort him and they have sex. The morning after Augusto tells Ludivina that he can not marry her, and she responds that she does not want to marry and reveals her past as a prostitute.

A few months later Nástenska returns to Tlacotalpan and finds Augusto working at the restaurant where she used to work and he discovers that she is pregnant, they have a conversation and she confirms her return to Spain with Mauricio despite not having the happy life she always wanted. Ludivina goes away for the weekend and upon returning she discovers Augusto's dead body in his room; Augusto died from eating expired canned food. Augusto's ghost is seen happy while his ashes are poured into the sea by Nástenska.

Cast

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Awards and nominations

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Diosas de Plata

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The Diosas de Platas ("Silver Goddesses") are awarded annually by the Film Mexican Journalists Association (Asociación de Periodistas Cinematográficos de México) (PECIME). Estar o No Estar received six nominations.[1][2]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2017 Marcelo González Best First Feature Film Nominated
Flavio Medina Best Actor Nominated
Aislinn Derbez Best Actress Nominated
Tiaré Scanda Best Supporting Actress Won
Patricia Reyes Spíndola Best Actress in a Minor Role Nominated
Jeronimo Rodriguez Garcia Best Cinematography Won
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References

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  1. ^ a b "2017 — XLVI Entrega de las Diosas de Plata" (in Spanish). Periodistas Cinematográficos de México. 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Felicitamos a los galardonados en la entrega de las Diosas de Plata 2017" (in Spanish). Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía. April 26, 2017. Archived from the original on April 29, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2017.