Year: 2010
Runtime: 100 mins
Language: Spanish
Director: Alejandro Springall
Javier marries his beloved María and dreams of a lifelong happiness together, but tragedy strikes soon after the wedding, taking her away. Grieving and confused, he wrestles with his emotions, searching for a way to accept his wife's death and eventually discover love again.
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Javier, a talented cardiac surgeon, and his girlfriend Maria decide to leave Mexico for Florida in search of a fresh start and a chance to marry. To mark their plan, they buy two goldfish at a pet shop, naming them Javier and Maria, a playful gesture that mirrors the couple’s hopes for a united future. In the same shop, they cross paths with Julia, a woman who seems to carry a quiet air of mystery and kindness, foreshadowing the unexpected turn their lives will take.
The couple’s wedding plans promise a bright future, but soon a phone call changes everything. From Miami, Maria reveals to Javier that she doesn’t want him to come after all, confessing that she is with another man, Jorge Rubio. “Its not you, its me,” she says, a line that lands like a weight on Javier’s chest. The truth rocks him so hard that he retreats to his parents’ home—already having sold his apartment and car—and begins seeing a psychiatrist, hoping to untangle the churn of emotions that won’t let him focus.
Back at work, Javier struggles to keep his clinical precision intact. He returns to the operating room, only to injure a patient by accident, a stark reminder that heartbreak has bled into every part of his life. He is told he cannot return to work until he regains his concentration and finds his footing again, a difficult pause that forces him to reckon with who he is without Maria.
Grief deepens when the fish he named Javier dies, a sign, perhaps, that the world has grown heavier than the man can bear. When Maria finally calls to apologize, Javier’s reply is cut to the point: he needs to understand what tore them apart, and his answer is a stubborn, clear echo of the problem: Jorge Rubio. He starts looking for answers in the most ordinary of places, wandering through parks and observing how other people meet their partners—often in small acts like walking a dog or sharing a moment with a stranger.
In a moment of impulse, Javier returns to the pet shop and encounters Julia again. The two strike up a cautious friendship, with Julia’s warmth softening the sharp edges of his heartbreak. A few miscommunications and an awkward first encounter with Julia at a cinema become part of the charm of their budding connection. Javier’s mother dispenses homespun wisdom, encouraging him to open up and follow his heart rather than relying on clever lines from his “little black book.” This leads him to reconnect with former flames, though many of those reencounters are imperfect and brief, including a date with a former girlfriend who isn’t available in the way he hopes.
As time passes, Javier meets Lola in the park and has a one-night stand, a reminder that healing is rarely linear. He lands a new job as a plastic surgeon, and his life begins to pick up momentum again. His mother, ever practical, teases him about the dog in the shop and jokes that he needs to “open up his chakra.” The dog named Pimpton becomes part of the narrative, and a surprising development emerges: Pimpton is pregnant, a detail that complicates the feelings between Javier and Julia while giving their shared life a new sense of responsibility and care.
The pet shop owner offers to buy Pimpton, but Javier decides to keep the dog, and Julia gives him her number “just in case.” Pimpton and the impending puppies become a source of shared joy and a catalyst for a deeper bond between Javier and Julia. When Pimpton is ready to deliver, Julia arrives to help and the moment strengthens their growing connection.
Eventually, Javier moves out of his parents’ home and asks Julia out on a proper date. Julia arrives with her young son, Pedrito, and the two quickly hit it off not only with each other but also with Pedrito, whose presence softens Javier’s heart. The trio—Javier, Julia, and Pedrito—spends more evenings together, and Javier’s social circle begins to widen as he integrates into Julia’s life.
A significant moment comes when Maria calls again, telling Javier that her father is in the hospital due to a heart attack. Javier agrees to visit the hospital and offers to pick Maria up at the airport, a sign that life is testing his capacity to balance old loyalties with a promising new future. Julia, overhearing this, leaves the party quietly, recognizing that her own path is shifting.
Javier performs a successful surgery on Maria’s father, a professional victory that also carries emotional weight, as it underscores his resilience and capacity to help others even amid personal turmoil. When he eventually reaches Maria at the airport, she stays with him, sharing a heartfelt letter she wrote but never sent, in which she apologizes for her affair and reveals that she loves him deeply and wants to come back. Reading the letter, Javier clutches the last remaining fish and delivers a quiet, definitive statement: Its not you, Its me.
With the old life behind him, he races to reunite with Julia. She asks what happened with his “perfect girlfriend,” and Javier answers with a simple, hopeful line: Shes right here. The film closes on a warm, forward-looking note as Javier builds a life with Julia, her young son Pedrito, and Pimpton—the dog that helped stitch together a future he never imagined, along with a litter of puppies that symbolize new beginnings and a family formed not by accident, but by choice. Their days are filled with ordinary joys, shared meals, and the steady rhythm of a life that finally feels right.
Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 10:24
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