The Backpackers Review – Pretentious Baggage

The only thing nice about the 2022 romantic Spanish movie ‘The Backpackers’ (Hasta que nos volvamos a encontrar) on Netflix is the gorgeous locales its shot in.

Directed and written by Bruno Ascenzo, the plot follows a workaholic wealthy architect Salvador (Maxi Iglesias) who meets the free-spirited Ariana (Stephanie Cayo) in Peru while he is on a work visit to build a 7-star hotel. While the two are immediately attracted to each other, Ariana’s horrified to learn that the rich daddy’s boy wants to build a commercial concrete monstrosity in her beloved land. We all know where this romantic story is going, don’t we?

Lead actors Maxi Iglesias and Stephanie Cayo make a striking looking couple, but their banter – or even passionate romance for that matter – is so lukewarm and boring, it makes you immediately want to stream something else. The two travel around in the gorgeous Peru, so the scenic shots are the only thing worth watching.

This whole “serious workaholic person meets a wanderer who loves nature and dancing” trope is getting a little too old in the world where every second person on social media claims to be a ‘traveler’. Besides, in a lot of irony, Ariana’s character does keep admiring historical man-made structures, just that they were made centuries ago. Sample this hot-springs her character loves, the ugly staircase surrounding it would look like ‘concrete monstrosity’ to some, especially against those lush green mountains.

Long story short, this is just a random movie, with a weak story and keeps getting more snooze-inducing as the runtime progresses.

It’s a 4/10 from me.