New on Netflix: Lorena: Light-footed Woman

I'll just start out by saying that this is a delightful way to spend 28 minutes. I am forever annoyed when directors try to stretch out a 28 minute short into a 90 minute movie and many times stories are ruined because of this format.

Lorena: Light-Footed Woman is exactly as long as it needs to be and is a powerful and touching presentation.

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Lorena Ramírez is a simple young woman who lives in rural Mexico. Her family lives a life in the past as they have none of the luxuries that we all take for granted such as internet, TV, or even electricity. The area that she has always resided it completely separate from what most people consider "normal life."

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I suppose it is possible that there was some instruction to claim this is the case for the cameras, but Lorena doesn't actually want the modern things in her life. I find that touching because I think most of us can't imagine living without these things.

As it turns out her family, for some genetic reason, is especially inclined towards long-distance running. Her father was a ultra-marathon runner and was delighted to find that when Lorena was in her 20's she surpassed him... and everyone else as well.

She doesn't use any modern gear and doesn't even wear athletic shoes, claiming that "they don't feel right." She runs these more than 60-mile long races wearing a home-made skirt and sandals.

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While i don't want to spoil this feature (and i really think you should watch it) I really enjoyed the part where she is displaying all the free gear she gets from sponsors of races such as the multiple pairs of Salomon shoes that are all in a bag. She never wears any of them and then says this:

"I don't think I'll use them...the people that do are always running behind me"

_{from the No Ficcion official channel}

While the trailer doesn't show it Netflix does have English subtitles throughout.

There are a lot of reasons why I found this film so touching. I always appreciate an underdog, I tend to cheer for the poor, and also the strong family connection that she has is hard to not get a bit misty-eyed about at times (unless you don't have a soul.)

I also do trail running a couple of times a week and this is always for less than 10 miles... and i complain constantly about how difficult it is. The lady does more than 6 times what I do in sandals. It's amazing!

A lot of my recommendations are a bit long and I can understand that people are hesitant to check out every single 1.5 hour plus thing that I suggest on a daily basis. This one is less than half an hour, and I can all but guarantee that you wont regret it.