The implosion of Mario Casas, a parakeet in search of himself in Utrecht

We meet Sergio (Mario Casas) as one of the hundred or so Espanyol fans who accompany Espanyol on a European trip to Utrecht. His belonging to the group and the testosterone-filled environment seem to define a character with outbreaks of violence in whom we also sense an inner fracture that becomes evident when he suddenly throws his wallet in the trash. It is the way he finds to break with the past: staying in Utrecht, a cold and hostile city for outsiders where he has no friends, no job, and hardly any money. Sergio's inexplicable outburst raises a question that strains the viewer's gaze on the protagonist of Very far. What's happening to Sergio? What drives him to burn his bridges and start from scratch in another country?

The film will offer the pertinent answers in due time, which are not difficult to imagine, but the interest of the proposal lies above all in accompanying the protagonist in this voluntary exercise of vital uprooting, an implosion of his own identity that will lead him to chain precarious jobs and housing and to relate it outsiders of Dutch society. The debuting director Gerard Oms, with a lot of experience as coach of actors, he imbues the work of the performers with a great naturalism, especially Mario Casas, who delves into the details of a character whose external disorientation reflects his inner conflict. Oms, who has helped him prepare for many roles, knows how to contain the actor's explosiveness and help him deliver his best work, fragile and credible.

The containment of Houses is spread to the way in which Very far unfolds Sergio's dramatic arc in Utrecht, allowing uncomfortable truths about oneself to slowly unfold. At the same time, the film embraces a style close to social cinema to show the bonds that emerge during this self-imposed exile, from the cautious approach to a bitter and selfish Catalan played by a refreshing David Verdaguer—the only character with whom Casas speaks Catalan—to the generosity of the woman of Caribbean origin. Very far does not limit itself to constructing a psychological study of the character and displaying Casas's acting skills, but rather paints a kind of portrait of the uprooting in today's Europe, where even someone adrift like Sergio is in a privileged position compared to any undocumented migrant.

With sharp editing by Neus Ballús –Oms was already acting as coach to Six ordinary days–, Very far confirms the arrival of a new director eager to explore doubt and confusion, the raw material of human experience. A director who, like Sergio's soccer team, practices a kind of active resistance against hegemonic narratives, a brave cinema that seems to trust people, both those who lend their talent to the film and those who will watch it afterward.