Lord, Take Me Soon

Carmen’s life might as well be described as Quixotesque; a child amid the Spanish Civil War, she became a nun before entirely changing course, marrying and then divorcing in an act of defiance against an extremely conservative society. She never had children, had several lovers, and most of all, always did things her own way. At 86, she is still doing just that, having made the decision to end her life, calmly and methodically arranging her own death. Given Carmen’s charismatic, larger than life personality, the privilege of filming her voluntary epilogue is justified to the utmost degree, thanks to Guillermo F. Flórez’s unique, immediate, and deeply empathetic gaze. It is the perspective of an emerging filmmaker who refuses to separate humor from emotion, and doesn’t overlook the catalytic impact the observer has on their subject, as he seeks to capture both the singularity and the fleeting nature of existence.