From 1996. A portrait of the writer as a young man. Tristán Romeo (Fernando Ramallo) is about to turn fifteen and looking forward to his sexual initiation when life deals him a losing hand and he’s left to care for his cantankerous grandfather (the great Luis Cuenca). His particular rite of passage will entail coping with loneliness and sorrow, learning to tread the sinewy road to survival. The seeds of David Trueba’s lifelong concerns are all present in his first film, made the year after he published his first novel, Abierto toda la noche (Open All Night). Here is the melancholy humor laced with an understanding of the choices we make and the price we pay for them.

Coral Gables: Opens Aug. 18 at Gables Art Cinema.