3021. Requirements To Be A Normal Person (2015)

Starring: Leticia Dolera, Manuel Burque, Alexandra Jiménez

Director: Leticia Dolera

Running Time: 90 mins

Requirements To Be A Normal Person (Requisitos para ser una persona normal) is a Spanish film about a 30 year-old woman whose life hasn’t panned out the way she hoped. So, she sets about fulfilling the checklist she believes will make her a ‘normal’ person.

Just by looking at the title, it’s pretty apparent how quirky and offbeat this movie is trying to be. However, though it might seem like an annoying, overplayed trope at first, the fact that Requirements To Be A Normal Person is so open about its hyper-quirky style is actually rather refreshing.

What’s more, the film itself is nowhere near as irritatingly offbeat as you might first expect. Stylistically, it uses all the quirky tropes in the book, from setting the story mainly around an IKEA outlet to the use of pastel colour tones and a sing-songy soundtrack.

However, the characters and the story are intelligent, engaging and very genuine. This isn’t a film that’s quirky just for the sake of it, but rather a heartfelt and relatable story with an offbeat charisma, and that’s exactly how this genre should be done.

Requirements To Be A Normal Person is the story of a woman trying to find her place in the world, yet looking in all the wrong places. Her intentions are good and her ability to fulfil her criteria of supposed ‘normality’ is good too. She’s not an idiot, and she’s not just a weirdo who’s being different for no good reason.

That’s something which so many films of this ilk forget is so important. When trying to sympathise with an offbeat story that looks intimately at a person’s attempts to build a life for themselves, what’s fundamental is a likable, intelligent and relatable main character.

Leticia Dolera not only directs the film with a cute, quirky style, but also plays the lead role brilliantly. She has the perfect combination of oddball eccentricity and genuine determination, which makes her so lovable to watch throughout, while she has wonderful chemistry with co-star Manuel Burque too.

I know that this sort of quirky young adult comedy can be a bit of a drag. It is an overplayed trope that’s more often than not very superficial and far from interesting. But, when it’s done right, it can be so wonderful, and that’s exactly what Requirements To Be A Normal Person is: heartfelt, offbeat, funny, cute and entirely genuine. So, that’s why I’m giving it a 7.7 overall.