In El Otro, the themes of isolation and solitude are explored, as one man lives alone at the end of the world, in a shack by a beach. However, he isn’t really alone, as he imagines ‘the other one’, a version of himself that lives with him as a roommate whom he calls ‘buddy’. When a white whale washes up on the beach in the morning, this slow burner begins ticking, as we watch the nameless man descend slowly into madness.

Both sides of the man’s personality converse and argue throughout, with each side having clearly definable traits and attitudes. One spends his days hunting and diving in the ocean, whilst the other is content to read indoors all day. In the film’s conclusion he banishes the other one from the shack and the man himself returns to the city to wander a place in which he feels no connection. Ultimately he returns to the shack and reunites with his imaginary other and they dance, as he decides that there is little good in trying to appear sane but being truly alone. 

Director Francisco Bermejo prompts the viewer to consider their own reality and how it is constructed through his protagonist. Bermejo portrays a life in solitude as equally peaceful and terrifying, as the madness present in the main character becomes clearer and his frustrations with his other self come to the boil. The other can at times represent his own self-loathing and frustrations with his own inadequacies and personality faults.

This is a visually stunning film, with some amazing footage of the sea as it pays homage to Herman Melville’s seminal novel Moby Dick. It was the first film I had seen spoken in Spanish and I cannot recommend it enough. Make sure that you see El Otro while you can – it’s not to be missed!

Written by Will McGinlay