35 and Single

The 2015 movie 35 and Single is a personal, intelligent, and provocative piece created by Argentinean filmmaker Paula Schargorodsky. It is like a delightful cocktail of a monologue, a performance, a documentary, and a confessional video essay, all rolled into one. The film is both urgent and light-hearted that gives viewers a peek into Schargorodsky's life as she ponders some of life’s most important questions.

In this autobiographical documentary, Schargorodsky takes center stage as the protagonist. However, she is not just the lead, but the producer and director as well, seamlessly blending her personal experiences alongside significant contemporary societal issues. She has been filming her life for the past 15 years and has stitched together that footage to tell her story, and through it, examines the realities and complexities of a woman's life, love, career, and identity in the 21st century.

Schargorodsky starts by addressing the question all single women over 30 get asked – Why aren’t you married? This underlies the premise of the film as she opens her life to the viewers, being both extraordinarily brave and vulnerable in displaying her past relationships, break-ups, and self-identity crises, all on camera. Through the film, she navigates her past and present to come to terms with the fact that she is '35 and Single' and, in doing so, presents a commentary on societal conventions and pressures about womanhood, marriage, and motherhood that is both intimate and universal.

The film is an emotional roller coaster ride that also explores the cultural expectations on women to marry and bear children. In the process, it covers a broad range of themes including gender roles, feminism, cultural pressures, emotional dependencies, personal freedom and growth, and not least, the struggle of maintaining romantic relationships.

Indeed, the film delves into certain crucial years in Schargorodsky's life where her romantic partnerships were at their center. Each romantic relationship is represented in its raw authenticity. The highs of falling in love, the joy of companionship, the stress and strain of maintaining the relationship, and the inevitable lows of painful break-ups, all of these aspects are unveiled in a candid and hard-hitting manner. Yet, Schargorodsky does all this with a sense of light-hearted humor and honesty that provides levity to the emotional intensity of her journey.

Additionally, the movie is not simply about Schargorodsky's love life and its ups and downs. There's a significant emphasis on her family relationships as well. In particular, the dynamics of her relationship with her mother are something that shape and form a subset of the narrative. The mother-daughter relationship is complicated, flawed, and yet beautiful. It explores the differences between the old and new generations, demonstrating how her mother's traditional outlook on marriage and family life often clashes with Schargorodsky's modern views on love, independence, and individuality.

Schargorodsky's friendships also feature prominently, serving as a strong support system for her. This depiction of female camaraderie provides a welcome break while journeying through Schargorodsky's romantic relationships. These interactions also form some of the relatively light moments throughout the film.

Presented in a distinctive style of storytelling, 35 and Single effortlessly intertwines the personal and the universal. It is imbued with authenticity as Schargorodsky doesn't shy away from revealing her life's less glamorous aspects. It is an intimate portrait of a woman's quest to explore her individuality and independence while examining societal norms about love, marriage, and gender roles.

35 and Single is reflective, poignant, and funny. It's a well-executed marriage of personal narrative and social commentary. Whether or not you share the same life circumstances as Schargorodsky, this documentary is bound to make you think, laugh, relate, and feel, which, indeed, marks the success of this unique piece of filmmaking.