REVIEW: ‘All The Places’ Hits A Lot Of Them

When their father dies, siblings Gabriella (Ana Serradilla) and Fernando (Mauricio Ochmann) reunite for the first time in 15 years in the Netflix Original Spanish-language road trip movie All the Places (A Todas Partes) directed by Pitipol Ybarra and written by Adriana Pelusi. It’s not a happy reunion at first. They didn’t leave on great terms and it’s been a long time. But upon getting drunk after the funeral at their family home and finding a relic from their past underneath the ping pong table, the two have a decades-old promise they realize they have to keep.

All the Places is quite sweet. It’s a very straightforward, time-tested story, and that’s just enough to make it enjoyable. Gabriella and Fernando, or Gabo and Fer, are approaching ages where adventures feel further and further away from reality. So when they decide to stick to their promise to each other as kids to go on a grand road trip to Acapulco, they do so with all the weight of the life they’ve lived, together and apart. I’m glad that their ire towards one another melts away so quickly, it’s a choice that helps you get straight into understanding who they are as individuals and as siblings far faster than if you had to endure the masks of aggravation and distancing constantly.

Instead, we get to just appreciate that Gabo and Fer are complete people, with dreams, regrets, fears, and not so deep down, love for one another. On their own, both get sizable journies of self-understanding. Fer’s perhaps a bit grander than Gabo’s, often turning her emotions into tools to support Fer rather than them getting to simply exist on their own. It’s never at her expense, fortunately, but I do wish that her journey felt as complete by the end as Fer’s does. But together, they do make a great team who are as fun to watch bicker as they are to watch support one another.

Their only poor teamwork is when they’re playing ping pong. The two siblings are supposed to be former champion players, yet they look like fools whenever they play. The actors are better tap dancers, which they prove in a sweet scene at an early hotel stop that precedes a chuckle-worthy awkward sex scene between Gabo and somebody she meets there. It’s not a huge deal. It just feels like if they’re great at the one thing, why shouldn’t the actors also be as good at the other?

Beyond insignificant grievances, the movie really does just pick a lane and sticks with it. There are no reinvented wheels here. It’s a road trip movie through and through. Two people get on the open road and a series of vignettes, some funny, some serious take place along the way. It’s in every way for the better that All the Places doesn’t attempt to get overly creative with the format or push any envelopes. By sticking to the tried and true, the movie lands its highs and lows just right.

All the Places is a good movie. It doesn’t have bells or whistles, just a straightforward journey between two siblings who have a few lessons worth learning together. Well worth a spin.

All the Places is streaming now on Netflix.

Jason Flatt

Jason is the Sr. Editor at But Why Tho? and producer of the But Why Tho? Podcast. He’s usually writing about foreign films, Jewish media, and summer camp.