Dances With Films Movie Review: ‘Spark’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Theo Germaine and Vico Ortiz as Aaron and Dani in Nicholas Giuricich’s SPARK. (Photo Courtesy of Berlin 7 and ReKon Productions.)

We live in quite the frustrating time when it comes to dating and love. Simply because the dating landscape is something of a mess right now. After all, it now has a digital component that oddly allows for people to be at their absolute worst because of how easily one can step away from a potential partner through deletion or a swipe. Plus, no one really seems to have an understanding of what they hell they want from a relationship. They just want to be in one and/or they want to rush right into marriage and everything it has to offer and all of that is just supremely overwhelming, as are other components of the dating world.
​
For intimacy is also something that appears to be a lost art form and a lost desire. Since everyone wants to keep it casual when they can, and/or just get right to the sex. Because romance and chivalry are apparently dead. But if that was the case then people wouldn’t be frustrated and crying out for something different in the dating world. For so many are asking, what will it take in 2024 to find a partner? Well as it turns out, there are answers to that question… but they’re not the kind that everyone will be pleased to hear. Because it’s not just the people we find in the dating world that are the problem, we can harbor our own issues that need to be addressed and fixed so we can date and love the people we deserve to and it just so happens that a new motion picture screening at Dances with Films, explores all of that in Spark.

Which is a feat that this film accomplishes by introducing us to an individual named Aaron who, is struggling to find the one. For it is one failed relationship after another for Aaron, and all he wants is to find his other half and well… one fine day before a birthday party, he may have done just that. For Aaron is tasked with driving around Trevor as part of the celebration. And it just so happens that Trevor is a dashingly handsome, James Dean type, that is enigmatic and shares in an attraction with Aaron, and it doesn’t take long for the two to fall for one another and enjoy intimacy. But there remains one problem with their partnering, in that… it somehow resets Aaron’s day. Forcing him to relive and reconnect with Trevor every time their draw to one another takes hold, for reasons that aren’t clear. But the longer Aaron spends in this strange time loop, the more he comes to realize that he is not the only one repeating the same day over and over and that there are some deep-rooted reasons within both their souls… that are preventing them from escaping this time loop, and from finding the love they crave.

---

At first glance of course, that plot appears to be nothing more than a rehash of Groundhog Day with some modern twists, with some hints of Memento thrown in for good measure as well. But as this film plays out it becomes apparent that it truly is a grand exploration into modern dating and the strange barrier that so many seem to find in achieving a lasting love that brings joy. Which this film correctly points out, relates to two key elements. In that, so many of us… don’t love ourselves or respect ourselves enough. Something that is critical to finding real love. Because if we cannot find peace with who we see in the mirror, we cannot find peace with the person we want to wake up next to, and we will only attract people that value us in the same way we value ourselves. So, we must learn to love ourselves. Because without that, we cannot do what really must be done to achieve a sustainable and lasting love.
​
Which is… to be able to open up our very souls to the person we want to be with and show them who we are and what we are made of and stand for. For we must be intimate with others and show them every bit about ourselves to really love someone and vice versa, and yes, there’s risk involved in that. For they could hurt us, or others have, and that possibility and reality is likely why… so few are willing to take that step right now. Because that is what is truly missing from the dating world, the desire to be intimate. And until people are willing to do that, and until we find happiness within ourselves, we will be no better than Aaron and Trevor in this tale. Locked in an endless loop of what could be, from which there is no escape, despite knowing full well what we need to break the cycle since we do see some cognizance of that present in this incredibly brilliant and magnificent feature.

Since it truly does analyze so much about love and the human condition and the flaws we harbor, and the fear we carry and how all of that, traumas included, impact love and give rise to frustrations that don’t have to be there. Plus, this is a motion picture that is also quite timely and progressive courtesy of its non-binary cast members and LGBTQIA+ perspective. One that informs us in a very subtle manner, that so many of us experience the exact same things because… we are all one… and that, labels and stigma when it comes to love, are stupid. For love is love, and we all deserve to love ourselves and love someone special in this life and well, all of these elements, and some fine performances as well… make this an important film. One that truly explores a major problem in our world in a frank and powerful manner, and offers tough answers, so that anyone stuck in the quagmire of dating, can light the spark that shows them the path to the person that will love them completely.

To purchase tickets for ‘Spark’ at Dances With Films, click here.

---