A man gets lost in the Spanish nightlife in a film about complicated emotions, and the relationships we fear putting a label on.

The story begins with Max (Dani Casellas) and Emma (Laia Vidal), best friends who live together and never quite explore their close bond. Emma breaks it to Max that she is moving out the following morning in order to live with her lover, sending him into a flurry of emotions he can’t express. Heading out on the pretence of picking up ice cream, Max embarks on a solo night of adventure where he becomes part of many strangers’ stories, while trying to figure out the next chapter of his own.

Set against the backdrop of lamplit Spanish streets, director Sara Gutiérrez Galve catches the unpredictability and excitement of a night out. Max doesn’t binge on alcohol, but on human connection, as he has intense conversations with fast food workers; has a potential romantic hook-up; and seeks out the owner of a lost sketchbook. The surprising twists and heart-breaking dead ends will feel authentic for anyone who has had a lost night, walking into the darkness looking for answers in all the wrong places.

While the lead’s journey is aimless, the film’s themes are not. Galve explores the loneliness of modern life, and how hard it is to bond with people when everyone is on their own path. The relationship between Max and Emma is also interesting, feeling almost more intimate than a lot of formal romantic relationships. The familiarity between the pair that bookends either side of Max’s night out expresses so much without either character saying what they feel. The stakes are a compelling portrait of the messiness of human emotions, and the fear of putting one’s heart at risk.

Despite the multitude of companions he has during the story, this is Casellas’s film, and he makes his character magnetic. Around Emma, Max is selfish, acting out as one only can with a true friend, but on his own he is vulnerable and unsure. While calm and thoughtful on the inside, slowly we see the internal struggle of a man who feels he is being cut adrift. With a minimum amount of theatrics, he invites the viewer to feel everything with him.

A modest but seductive story, The Night She Moves is a well-made tale of introspection that may wander, but never strays too far from the truth.

The Night She Moves streams for free during the entire month of December as part of ArteKino – just click here now for more information.