Imagine you're a happily married woman in 1966, working on a groundbreaking scientific project with your beloved husband. The project: a time machine. But you're having funding problems and missing something that could give your machine the boost it needed to travel. One day, you find what you need and decide to travel 15 minutes into the future. Upon arrival, you quickly realize that not 15 minutes have passed, but 59 years. Now, in 2025, with no turning back, you need to figure out how to live your life in this futuristic world. What will you discover? Will it affect your love? This is the basic premise of the Netflix original series, Our Times. But what seems like a cute mix of romantic comedy and science fiction is actually a terrible attempt at a "chill" feminist movie.
I guess this is what "feminist propaganda" looks like in 2025, ouch! Right off the bat, you'll see Nora cooking for a very important guest—the man funding the project—and you'll think, "But she's a scientist." False, it's 1966, and even if a couple is progressive enough not to want children, they'll still be stuck in classic gender roles because that's all they know. Throughout the film, Nora and Hector kiss to celebrate. Whether it's their success at something or just the joy of seeing how the world has changed, they kiss to celebrate. A real romance, you know? But suddenly, in 2025, Hector realizes the many opportunities Nora has and starts to change a little. But I'll stop here because this is a spoiler-free review.
Director: Chava Cartas
Writers: Juan Carlos Garzón, Angélica Gudiño
Stars: Lucero, Benny Ibarra, Renata Vaca
While the concept of "Our Times" is quite interesting and a lot could have been done with this premise, the film as a whole is simply boring and, in many places, doesn't even make sense. Tell me how these people use the subway without money or tickets. But if we watch this film with our minds disconnected, why does it want to be serious? I think it tries to do too many things at once and fails to do anything right. It really comes down to how bad movies are these days. Sure, you can make a mainstream entertainment movie, a popcorn flick to watch at home with the family during the summer, but then Netflix thinks we need second-screen movies because we're all lonely and will keep watching crap just because we have nothing else to do but doom-scroll and be unpleasant about things we don't know about. But, I digress.
Look, the ending of the movie didn't convince me at all. It feels like flashy marketing with no substance. The sci-fi elements are practically nonexistent, so it definitely shouldn't be considered in that category. However, I'll admit that the romance is good in the first half of the movie and the chemistry is pretty good, but that's all I can really appreciate. It's not that the message isn't there, but the movie is a mess, and I didn't like it at all. Oh, and they use the periodic table to say "I love you." I can't even blame the actors, because they do their best to bring this almost nonexistent plot to life. I think I've read fan fiction that's more interesting than this movie's plot, and that's just sad.
The movie feels like a TV movie, and you know it's not a big-budget one; some of the color adjustments are quite odd, but I guess you could say the time machine design was interesting, even if it didn't make much sense. I can't stand mediocrity in cinema anymore, when so much potential is wasted everywhere, spending time and money on half-baked projects, while good stories are sidelined because, as an audience, we're considered too dumb to enjoy them. It's, frankly, quite ridiculous.
Popcorn entertainment doesn't mean inventing a plot that goes nowhere. It simply means it should keep you entertained. This movie hopes to achieve that, but it also hopes to be moralistic and break away from the genre. I see the effort, but it gets a bit lost in its own confusion, which is a shame. Besides, just because something has an interesting message doesn't mean we have to like how it's delivered, and that's the case with this one. The story isn't predictable as such, though it doesn't really have much to offer, but rather a familiar gift wrapped in new paper to make us feel like we're watching something new.
Honestly, I think Our Times is too superficial and doesn't understand the feminist mission it's been given. The social focus seems like a device to make it seem relevant, but it doesn't work. I must admit that some of Hector's dialogue hits home because we see so many men speak like that these days. I suppose this film is for a slightly older audience, who might feel like they're being seen through Nora's character. What could it have been? But I think my mother would have gotten bored in the first 15 minutes and turned it off, because there's nothing compelling in the film to keep you engaged. They need more to be entertained; I mean, they've seen a lot of drama their whole lives.
If I were in her shoes, I might have appreciated Our Times just a little more. I still find flaws, even though it's aimed at women who may have been left behind and now have a better opportunity. With that in mind, I give Our Times 2.5 out of 5 stars.
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