Movies: The Practice (2023) by Martín Rejtman - Mundane Melodrama in Yoga Pose

About Movie

The Practice traces the unraveling life of Gustavo, an Argentinian yoga instructor based in Chile, whose life fractures after separating from his wife. Suddenly homeless and wheelchair-bound from a knee injury, he navigates absurd domestic upheaval: lost studios, meddling mothers, amnesiac students, and inept therapy. Through this surreal everyday chaos, Martín Rejtman’s deadpan, minimalist filmmaking crafts an oddly warm portrait of midlife realignment—blending comedy, philosophy, and disciplined observation.

Short Summary: Yoga Mats and Life’s Mishaps

Gustavo’s post-divorce world is chaotic: he’s lost his home, his business, and his body’s balance. As he drifts from one absurd encounter to another, he tries to regain footing—rebuilding his practice and identity through a series of absurd yet tender misadventures.

Link IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10399660/

Link Review: https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/450495/

About movie: https://visitfilms.com/the-practice-la-practica/

Link to watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-practice (US), https://picl.nl/films/la-practica (Netherlands)

Detailed Summary: Life in Poses and Pauses

• Displaced and Disheveled

  Gustavo loses both his marital home and yoga studio, forcing him into temporary living arrangements that never quite feel stable. Each move underscores his sense of being adrift, unanchored from routine and identity.

• Physical and Emotional Injury

  A knee injury sidelines him from teaching yoga—the very practice that once gave him purpose. His limp becomes both a literal and metaphorical sign of imbalance, echoing his inner turmoil.

• Absurd Encounters Abound

  Days blur with strange, comical episodes: a German student plagued by memory lapses, a theft in a changing room, and failed attempts at romance with a former pupil. These encounters highlight the surreal chaos of everyday existence.

• Routine as Refuge

  Despite the mess, Gustavo clings to habits—attending therapy, visiting the gym, making half-hearted attempts at dating. These ordinary gestures act as anchors, though they sometimes devolve into ironic misfires that keep him circling in place.

• Gradual Repose

  As the narrative unfolds, Gustavo doesn’t find radical change but instead a modest sense of balance. Through persistence, humor, and the acceptance of imperfection, he regains a quiet rhythm in life. The ending feels less like closure and more like a soft exhale.

Director’s Vision: Humor Through Stillness

• Minimalist Comedy

  Rejtman crafts humor not through punchlines but through static frames, muted dialogue, and a rhythm that forces viewers to notice the absurd in the ordinary.

• Repetition as Rhythm

  Dialogue echoes, gestures repeat, and incidents recur, building a sense of comic déjà vu. This structured repetition mirrors the discipline of yoga itself, where practice is everything—even when results seem elusive.

• Existence in Motion

  For Rejtman, cinema is about form and life’s choreography. Just as yoga transforms physical routine into spiritual practice, he transforms small, everyday details into scenes of comedy and reflection.

Themes: Finding Balance in Chaos

• Midlife Disarray

  Gustavo embodies the uncertainty of middle age—divorced, injured, and unsure of his direction—making the film a portrait of existential drift.

• Absurdity as Reality

  By exaggerating ordinary problems until they feel surreal, the film suggests that life itself often resembles a comedy of errors.

• Identity Through Routine

  Ultimately, routines—whether in yoga, work, or relationships—become the scaffolding that helps Gustavo reassemble his fractured identity. His slow return to balance is found not in revelation but in persistence.

Key Success Factors: Comic Precision with Tender Warmth

• Deadpan Performance

  Esteban Bigliardi’s restrained acting makes Gustavo both sympathetic and hilarious. His subdued expressions highlight the comedy of awkwardness without turning the character into a caricature.

• Form Reflects Content

  The stillness of Rejtman’s camerawork mirrors Gustavo’s emotional paralysis, while the pacing reflects the rhythm of recovery—halting, uncertain, but steady.

• Philosophical Without Pretension

  The film explores weighty ideas—identity, failure, persistence—without solemnity, proving that philosophy can be delivered with laughter and gentleness.

Awards & Nominations: Festival Stage Recognition

The Practice premiered in competition at the 2023 San Sebastián Film Festival, earning a nomination for the Golden Shell, the festival’s top prize. While it didn’t claim the award, its presence in competition marked an important recognition of Rejtman’s continued relevance as a master of minimalist comedy.

Critics Reception: Absurdity Rendered with Care

• Slant Magazine: Hailed it as a “serio-comic” meditation on life’s absurd beauty, turning Gustavo’s struggles into something deeply human.

• Screen Daily: Described it as “deft, witty and thoughtful,” an X-ray of a society where wellness culture clashes with the instability of modern life.

• Cineuropa: Praised its blend of compassion and absurdity, capturing the gentle chaos of daily life with wit and warmth.

• Cinema Scope: Admired its rigorous form and philosophical playfulness, framing yoga practice as a metaphor for Rejtman’s disciplined but whimsical style.

Overall Summary: Critics find the film understated yet rich, a minimalist gem that locates comedy in repetition, restraint, and the chaos of daily life.

Reviews: Everyday Audiences Reflect

• Letterboxd Users: Many described it as a quirky black comedy that rewards patience, while some found its slow pace challenging.

• IMDb Reactions: Viewers enjoyed its mix of tenderness and absurd humor, though a few noted the narrative meanders without a clear climax.

Consensus: For audiences who appreciate quiet, offbeat humor, the film resonates as a deeply relatable portrait of muddling through life.

Why to Recommend Movie: Yoga for the Soul, Comedy for the Mind

• For comedy lovers who enjoy subtle absurdity and slow-burn humor.

• For fans of minimalist cinema who prefer form and tone over spectacle.

• For thoughtful viewers drawn to films about identity, failure, and persistence.

• For anyone curious about life’s quiet chaos, as the film turns everyday missteps into comic revelations.

Movie Trend: Minimalist Comedy of Midlife

The film fits within the tradition of deadpan, everyday comedies—akin to works like Paterson or Aki Kaurismäki’s films—that find depth in inertia and absurdity in ordinary life.

Social Trend: Skepticism of Wellness Culture

Arriving at a time when yoga, therapy, and self-help dominate global wellness trends, the film questions whether these practices truly heal—or simply offer routines that mask disarray. It reflects modern skepticism about self-optimization in a fragmented world.

Final Verdict: A Whispering Comedy of Persistence

The Practice is a comedy of patience—deadpan, absurd, and deeply human. Martín Rejtman captures the chaos of midlife dislocation not with dramatic outbursts, but with still frames, awkward pauses, and gentle laughter. The film suggests that balance isn’t found in perfection, but in persistence—in returning to the mat, even when the poses feel impossible. For audiences open to quiet cinema, it is a rewarding, tender, and philosophical experience.