Flowers of Another World

Flowers of Another World deals with protagonists who find themselves out of place. After marrying their husbands, Patricia and Milady move to Spain. However they are from the Dominican Republic and Cuba, respectively. Thus, they are presented as others when compared to other Spaniards. It is clear that in the language of the film, Cuba and the Dominican Republic are considered to be lesser than Spain, at least by the inhabitants of the town they come to live in. This is indicative of past colonial sentiments that still inform modern European life. These archaic colonial sentiments can similarly be found in the EU’s policies that on the surface preach freedom of mobility for all.  Their migration from places considered uncivilized to Spain is received with skepticism from the locals. Milady wants to travel and experience life. She is a carefree soul, similar to Juli. However she doesn't have the freedom to travel as she wishes because of her migrant status. If Daniel and Juli are traveling from civilization to the wild in the sake of spiritual awakening, Patricia and Milady are travelling from the wild to the civilized in hope of a better life. These are different sensibilities, and inherently different experiences.

The films are extremely different, stylistically. From the standpoint of a movie goer, who only has entertainment in mind, I enjoyed In Juli substantially more than Flowers of Another World. Unlike other rom-coms that are seemingly ashamed of their trivial genre tropes, In Juli totally buys into the fantasy world of the film. It holds no bars, and doesn't try to be realistic. The film knows it is far fetched and it plays into it. While Flowers of Another World is a great film in its own right, it is slow and a bit one noted. The pace stays the same throughout the film which makes for a somewhat slow watch .That being said, both films are worthy watches when the mood is appropriate.