Netflix continues to open viewers up to intriguing titles from around the world with recent releases like Our Times. This sci-fi romantic comedy-drama out of Mexican stars Lucero and Benny Ibarra as a pair of trailblazing physicists in the 1960s whose passion for science is perhaps only outshone by their love for one another. But when their prized invention takes them too far forward to 2025, their relationship is pushed to the brink by unforeseen variables like societal, technological, and cultural advancements, leaving one of them interested in staying longer while the other is desperate to go home. Will they be able to make it back to their rightful time, or will the allure of an exciting new world order be enough to break this cerebral couple up for good?
The Gist: It’s the year 1966, and Dr. Nora Cervantes (Lucero) is ahead of her time, working as a physics professor at the University of National Autonomy of Mexico in Mexico City. Unfortunately, the rest of the world hasn’t quite caught up, leaving her often condescended to, brushed aside, and underestimated by the men around her. Even just asking for a teaching assistant ends with Nora being dismissed and called “sweetheart” by her superior. More often than not, Nora has to use her husband and fellow professor, Dr. Héctor Esquivel (Benny Ibarra), as a proxy or middleman for her own requests if she wants to get anything done.
Héctor, at least, seems to respect and love Nora for who she is and how her brain works. They’re brilliant physicists who seem to adore each other as well as their work, and we can see it for ourselves as they slow dance to the radio in between putting the finishing touches on their pride and joy: a time machine that they’ve built from scratch. The project is so secret that Nora can’t even tell her beloved sister, Rebeca (Claudia Lobo), what they’re doing, but for all of its promise, it seems to be in jeopardy as the machine fails to work and is running out of university faith and funding.
Even though Héctor is the spokesperson for the project, Nora is truly the brains, and a meeting with their condescending colleague Dr. Carrasco (Enrique Singer) unexpectedly gives her the idea to fix their machine. When Héctor and Nora put her theory to the test, they opt to test it by going 15 minutes in the future, only to appear 59 years later in the year 2025. After the initial elation that their ambitious science experiment is a success, the couple flounders in the face of this new and very unfamiliar reality. From technology to smoking regulations to infrastructure, there’s a lot that’s dramatically different, but the most difficult things for the duo to adjust to are the new cultural and gender norms.
With the help of Nora’s former student and current UNAM dean, Julia (Ofelia Medina), as well as Nora’s great-niece, bright physics student Alondra (Renata Vaca), Nora begins to not only survive in this new time, but completely thrive. Everyone who comes into contact with her seems to admire, like, and respect her, and her genius is celebrated throughout the entire university. Héctor, however, is having a much more difficult time as he’s suddenly forced to take a backseat to his wife’s success, and he struggles to get onboard with modern feminism as he’s increasingly consumed by jealousy and his own deeply ingrained views on propriety and patriarchy.
While both Nora and Héctor initially wanted to return to their own time, the longer they’re in 2025, the more Nora wavers as she enjoys this liberating and intellectually stimulating new world order. Héctor, however, remains firmly rooted in the past and will do anything to return. As the university’s top physicists try to help the couple get back to their time before their portal to the past closes, Nora and Héctor’s seemingly impenetrable relationship begins to crumble while they wonder if there’s still a future for them together, or if their love is meant to stay in the past.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Our Times is kind of like combining The Time Traveler’s Wife, Back to the Future Part II, and Barbie (Nora is everything; He’s just Héctor) all in one and then setting it in Mexico City.
Performance Worth Watching: Lucero is undeniably charming as Dr. Nora Cervantes, getting viewers on her side from the start with an earnest and natural performance that serves as the linchpin for the entire film.
Memorable Dialogue: This exchange between Nora, Héctor, and a security guard in 2025 is just pure fun.
“I think Pee-wee Herman wants his bowtie back.”
“Who’s Pee-wee?”
“You know, like Pee-wee’s Big Adventure?”
“What’s the big adventure?”
“Oh. What planet have you been living on?”
Also, I want to award an honorable mention for when Héctor asks, “International Women’s Day? And when is the international day for men?” and Nora replies, “Alondra says all the other days of the year are the international days for men.” He did not like that.
Sex and Skin: Intimacy, a sex shop, and mature themes are referenced, and there’s a scene where Nora is in some lingerie trying to entice Héctor, but there’s no actual nudity or raunchiness beyond kissing.
Our Take: With a crisp 90-minute runtime, Our Times is a mostly tight and engaging movie that puts a fun twist on the typical time travel story as it sends its characters from a not-too-distant past to an even more familiar future: our present day. Time travel can be a tricky subject, and I like that this movie addresses that by discussing conundrums like the possibilities of paradoxes and altered timelines. There’s a nice balance of scientific terminology to make what they’re talking about feel valid without going overboard and sounding completely cartoonish or overly erudite to the point you mentally check out.
The set-up to Our Times is quick and clear, giving you a good understanding of Nora’s challenges in 1966 with everything from overt sexism to more nuanced slights from her own husband that may be unintentional, but they still sting nonetheless. The movie establishes this both through dialogue as well as interesting, intentional shots that show without having to tell. For example, there’s a frame early on where Nora is in the kitchen working hard to cook dinner, while Héctor lounges reading the paper just a room over, a wall between them that acts as a symbol of the pretty low glass ceiling that Nora is limited by every day. When they get to the future, that ceiling is broken, but the distance is still there as Nora begins to outshine Héctor.
When it comes to the main couple themselves, Lucero and Benny Ibarra have great, easy chemistry that helps you believe in their love and connection early on in the movie. Everyone in Our Times puts in strong acting performances that are bolstered by well-crafted and convincing sets, effects, and props, as well as a strong and often amusing script. If there’s anything to be critical of, it would just be the movie’s ending.
I found the last 20 minutes or so to seem a bit rushed and oddly paced, capped off by an ending that felt emotionally hollow and slightly unsatisfying compared to everything that came before. It doesn’t help that Héctor spends more of the movie being unlikable and unsupportive to the point you wonder what Nora sees in him, but they do make it clear that this is a nuanced issue since they come from a totally different time. So I guess just because Héctor is unlikable doesn’t make him completely unsympathetic, as it’s clear how challenging it would be to see his life turned upside down so completely. With this in mind, it’s hard to fully know how to feel about the ending, and I could see it even being divisive or disappointing for some viewers. Even so, the majority of Our Times is likable enough that this shouldn’t make the movie feel unwatchable or like a waste of time overall.
Our Call: Even if it might be an unsatisfactory ending for some, the ride to get there was entertaining, engaging, and unique enough to make Our Times still feel worth a watch. STREAM IT.