Netflix film Through My Window based on the popular book A Través De Mi Ventana by Wattpad author Ariana Godoy is finally out. Fans of Ariana and this story have been waiting a long time for this. As a newbie to this fandom myself, I was also incredibly excited for it.
The book A Través De Mi Ventana was recently released in English, so I immediately grabbed a copy to read it before the film came out. I wanted to join in on all of the excitement with the Latin fans because their excitement was contagious. As I previously mentioned when we reviewed the book, I really enjoyed it so I was curious to see what would be done with the film.
You may be asking if the film is worth your time, and I say yes, it is. If you’re a fan of New Adult romance and of course you don’t mind reading subtitles.
Synopsis:
Raquel’s (Clara Galle) longtime crush on her next-door neighbor Ares Hidalgo (Julio Pena) turns into something more when he starts developing feelings for her, despite his family’s objections.
Before I get into this review, I must warn you there are spoilers ahead so continue if you so choose to.
Let’s talk about Through My Window, shall we?
The Storyline
If you’ve read Through My Window, then you already know the story of Raquel and Ares. Or so you thought you did. Book to screen adaptations are always tricky to pull off. There are tons of things that have to be considered when doing one. The director and the person working on the screenplay basically have to try and figure out what stays and what goes.
We all know not everything from a book will make it onto the big screen and at the end of the day, that little word creative license comes into play. It is still important to take the fans wants into account and I do think that director Marçal Forés and screenwriter Eduard Sola did that as much as they could.
The authenticity of Raquel and Ares’s story remains the focal point of this love story and the way the relationship began with Raquel stalking him is the beginning of it. Before you get all creeped out about the whole stalking thing, I need to make it clear that the stalking is mutual and there is no malicious intent on either Raquel or Ares’s part. Also, it is not something that remains a constant in the book or even the film. It’s just something we know Raquel and Ares were both doing for years before they finally started talking to each other.
If you read my review of the book Through My Window, then you will remember I wrote that there wasn’t a whole lot of conflict between Raquel and Ares. The biggest wedge between them was honestly Are’s unwillingness to commit to a relationship because of fear that loving someone made him weak. With the film, we did get that extra dose of conflict and it really worked. Raquel and Ares are both from two totally different worlds and we needed to see that. Whereas Ares comes from money, Raquel does not.
Are’s family wants him to focus all of his time and energy on becoming the next powerful Hidalgo man in the business world. That’s not what he wants though. Ares wants to go to Medical School and Raquel is the only one who encourages him to fight for his dream. Raquel brings something out of him that he has never experienced in his life before and that’s love. Ares has never truly been in love and that much is obvious in his treatment of Raquel. He’s trying to figure out how to handle his feelings but keeps pushing her away.
Raquel and Ares go through a series of emotional highs and lows throughout the film and those two were my main focus. We did see the other characters like Raquel’s besties Daniela (Natalia Azahara) and Yoshi (Guillermo Lasheras) who has been desperately wanting out of the Raquel friendzone.
And of course, the other Hidalgo brothers, Artemis (Eric Masip), and Apolo (Hugo Arbues) with their own set of drama. I’m going to be honest; not all of their storylines kept my attention like Raquel and Ares’s did. I do like those characters but there were just too many storylines to follow. As always, what goes well in the book doesn’t always fit onscreen.
One change in the storyline that I did like was that the film was done as if Raquel had written the story Through My Window and was sharing it with the world. That was a nice little change.
The Cast
When I say “the cast” I admit I’m only talking about Clara Galle and Julio Pena. These two are incredibly talented and I want to follow their careers from here on out because I was impressed with both of their performances. They really dove in and embodied both of their character’s and they were just as I imagined them when I read the book.
Clara Galle is a fireball of energy. She’s just adorable and her eyes draw you in. She brought a mix of innocence and fierceness that was the perfect representation of who Raquel is. Like Clara, Raquel is in a class of her own and doesn’t let anyone try to place her into their little box. Not even Ares. She puts him in his place, but she also loves him with her whole heart.
Julio Pena was a huge standout for me watching Through My Window. He has the most expressive face, and you don’t see Julio playing Ares. You see Ares. Julio just nailed every bit of Ares’s emotions. When the film starts Ares is this cocky, sexy guy but once Raquel comes into his life, you see more of his vulnerability. Ares is a guy who is misunderstood, and he never knows how to say the right thing when it comes to Raquel. Julio shows all of that beautifully.
The Chemistry
I mean, we probably could have thrown this in with the section about the cast, but Julio and Clara deserve a separate part to talk about this. Good chemistry between leads in a romance is very important. Without it, things come off looking forced and awkward. We felt none of that watching Clara and Julio during their love scenes.
We also need to point out we felt the chemistry for these two before Raquel and Ares even slept together. From the moment Raquel confronts Ares about stealing her Wi-Fi, I was feeling alllllll the chemistry. The way they look at each other, the way Ares talks, the subtle touches… Holy moly. Also, they’re speaking Spanish. That language is sexy as hell.
That Plot Change
Remember “creative license” that phrase we mentioned earlier? Well, that’s where the plot change comes in. Early in the film Ares mentions to Raquel that he has an allergy to Chlorine. Yes, we said chlorine as in chlorine in the swimming pool. It’s said sorta in passing so you don’t really think too much about it until it pops up again in a jaw-dropping scene I honestly did not expect to happen.
Ares gets into a fight with Raquel’s friend Yoshi during the prom and he ends up getting knocked into the semi-empty pool. Unfortunately, the pool has yes you guessed it. Chlorine. So, not only is Ares basically damn near knocked unconscious, he’s in a freaking pool where his deadly allergen is just pouring all over him.
My heart literally stopped, and I was losing my shit. I watched the movie again earlier today and I was still losing my shit. I don’t know why the director and the screenwriter decided to go in that direction but it’s one that will stay with the viewer for sure. It’s painful to watch especially when Raquel is screaming for help to get him out of the pool.
We Need to Talk About The Last Half Of The Movie
Okay, so, after the pool incident Ares ends up in a coma for a few weeks. During that time, we watch Raquel stay by his bedside and work to try and get his family to accept their relationship and the fact that Ares wants to go to Medical school. Of course, things do get patched up between everyone once he wakes up but those scenes when he was out of the coma were far too rushed.
Even the narration from Clara Galle feels too fast. As she narrates there are sweeping camera angles to represent that Ares and Raquel have run out of time together because he’s leaving for school. The airport scene in the book was one of my favorites and I couldn’t wait to see it onscreen but when it came, I didn’t feel the emotion I should have.
During the airport scene Ares truly lets Raquel know his feelings and she finds out that he had purposely broken his Wi-Fi so that he had an excuse to talk to her. It’s a tender moment and full of emotion and tears. We didn’t get that in the film. We do see Ares and Raquel say goodbye at the airport but it’s too fast and the shot is mainly overhead like it was done with a drone or something.
I wanted them zoomed in on Raquel and Ares in that moment. We needed to feel that loss and just how much they loved each other. I will say the director made up for it with the final shot when Ares comes home to visit. It made me all warm and fuzzy.
Other Things
- Julio Pena as Ares Hidalgo. That is all.
- Julio Pena’s accent. Need I say more.
- The cemetery scene was just like the book, and I loved it.
- Wondering if anyone else picked up on all of the films that the director seemed to be drawing inspiration from. I had thoughts of 10 Things I Hate About You (Ares and Raquel in the Library), Fear (Amusement park sex), Fifty Shades of Grey (Ares tells Raquel why he’s afraid of love/elevator scene), and even Yoshi and Raquel’s dance gave me She’s All That vibes.
- Not too sure why we needed that scene of Ares basically jamming his fingers down Raquel’s throat. Then again, this film was directed by a dude so…
- Was really hoping to see the moment when Raquel told Ares they needed to start over as friends before dating and avoid the temptation of hooking up. I just know we could have had some cure dating montages. Call me crazy but I would have preferred that type of montage to the one of them having sex everywhere.
- Speaking of sex, what exactly was happening in that montage when Raquel flipped Ares over onto his stomach? That was a head scratcher.
- Seriously though, Raquel told Ares he needed to do things better in order to be in a relationship with her but she took him back real quick.
- Artemis is hot but he’s an asshole.
- Apolo is precious.
- The whole Daniela hooking up with her teacher, yeah could have done without that. I don’t’ care that the teacher was a woman either. I still think it was inappropriate.
- I am still fucked up over that pool scene with Ares. WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT TO US?
