Sand Dollars (2015)
Every afternoon Noelí, a young Dominican woman, hangs out on the beach at Las Terrenas. With her boyfriend, Yeremi, they look for ways to make a living at the expense of one of the hundreds of tourists there. However Noelí also has a steady client, Anne, a much older French woman, who, like many other Europeans, has found an idyllic refuge on the island to spend her last years. For Noelí, the relationship is one of convenience, but the feelings become more intense as they plan to leave together for Paris.
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I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Excellent but underrated film
It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
Dominican Republic is a wonderful country full of contrasts. In one hand, we have a little piece of Paradise called Samaná, a place where you feel like in Heaven with the most beautiful beaches in the world. In the other, our people live in poverty and, sometimes, they have to do anything to survive. Samaná is the natural scenery of "Sand Dollars", fourth film of the real-life couple, Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas, based freely on the homonymous novel by Jean-Noél Pancrazi. In this tropical Shangri La, young people sell their bodies to foreigners who buy with dollars the illusion of love in the permanent orgy of tobacco, rum and sex disguise of tenderness and with a soundtrack of authentic 'bachatas'. In the Neo-realism cinema tradition, the directors recruit talents without any experience in movies, like Yanet Mojica and Ricardo Ariel Toribio. Together, is Geraldine Chaplin, a heavyweight name, who gives one of the most brave and fearless role in years. "Sand Dollars", easily is the best Dominican movie of 2014. A must see.