Congratulations.
For a certain set of people, this singular word carries weight. This isn’t to say that it doesn’t for the general populous as receiving accolades or cheers often makes one feel elated, but, for a specific set, “Congratulations” correlates to individuals who have experienced the introspective anime Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995 – 1996) and come out the other side. That filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo (Timecrimes; Colossal) references series creator Hideaki Anno’s Rebuild quadrilogy, the third iteration of the Evangelion story, and not even by specific name but by number, alludes to a deeper intention of his third feature film Daniela Forever. A tale of lost love, depression, and obsession, Daniela Forever first premiered during TIFF 2024 before releasing into theaters in early July of 2025. Unfortunately for fans of the film, when it released on physical formats in October, it arrived with not an ounce of supplemental materials, leaving audiences to decipher Vigalondo’s intent with only the experiences they arrive with, creating a meaning only for ourselves.
If you’re interested in learning about Daniela Forever in a spoiler-free context, head over to EoM Contributor Justin Waldman’s initial TIFF 2024 release review.
L-R: Beatrice Grannò as Daniela and Henry Golding as Nicolas in DANIELA FOREVER. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
Struggling to keep himself together in the wake of the death of his girlfriend, Daniela (Beatrice Grannò), Nicolas (Henry Golding) is recommended, by their friend Victoria (Nathalie Poza), to participate in an experimental study that uses lucid dreaming for therapeutic purposes. But when an accident in the first sessions results in Nicolas focusing on a photo of Daniela instead of the printed prompt the administrators gave him, Nicolas finds himself being able to engage with Daniela once more. Choosing to lie about what he experienced, Nicolas is given a 30-day supply of pills and instructions to check in each week, opting to use the opportunity to be with Daniela again. But as the two spend more time together, the rules of Nicolas’s lucid dreams and the objects within them start to shift in unexpected ways, causing the walls of the dream world and reality to splinter and collapse upon each other.
The following review is based on a Blu-ray retail copy provided by Well Go USA, courtesy of Allied Vaughn Entertainment.
L-R: Henry Golding as Nicolas and Nathalie Poza as Victoria in DANIELA FOREVER. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
From the very beginning, Vigalondo draws a concrete line between reality and the dream world. With the title card, audiences are shown two versions of “Daniela Forever,” one which is boxed in 4:3 aspect ratio with a standard definition (SD) look complete with tracking lines and visible static (akin to an overworked VHS tape) and a second one that’s 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a high definition (HD look that’s cleaner, crisper, and more detailed. Following this title intro, we’re taken into the HD world, observing a retelling of the couple’s first meeting complete with narration from them discussing perceived differences of experience as we watch until we get to the part of their story wherein Daniela dies (off screen and unknown to us). We only know that Nicolas blames himself for not picking up the phone when she called, as if doing so would somehow prevent the accident that claims her life, and the imagined recreation of his failing to answer causes him to wake, transitioning the audience into the SD presentation and solidifying the delineation of the two worlds. Vigalondo is telling us several things here, among them being that Nicolas sees his life as lacking clarity (SD vs HD), that the dream world is a more real experience to him than reality, and the loss of Daniela directly correlates to way Nicolas sees the world. Of course Nicolas would want to hide within the HD realm, it’s not only more distinct and vibrant than his world, he can control what occurs within the aspect ratio. This may seem like a set dressing, a mere stylistic choice to create a strict border between worlds for the audience to latch onto, but it’s directly tied to the way in which Nicolas views his lived experience. Interestingly, Nicolas is a DJ and Daniela was an artist, so one wouldn’t expect the visible perception of the world to be impacted and, yet, Vigalondo does exactly this, thereby informing us of Nicolas’s deep trauma over the loss. So great is the absence of Daniela for him that his perception has permanently altered and we, as the journeyman accompanying him on this adventure, see what he sees. This is where things get truly interesting as the expectation of the story and Vigalondo’s intention collide into something simultaneously whimsical and soul-crushingly dark.
Henry Golding as Nicolas in DANIELA FOREVER. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
The Evangelion series, for those unaware, is a story in which angels are attacking Earth and a group of mechanized warriors combat them to prevent the destruction of humanity. This would all be well and good if not for the facts that there’s a conspiracy to allow for the attacks to proceed in order to activate a prophesied end for humanity, that the operators of the mech are children, and that the child at the center of it all only knows pain and therefore wants to end it all (but does he?). Using one of the hard edits transitioning to either the real or the dream world from a black screen, we find Daniela mid-sentence as she describes the titles of four films and the oddness of it to her while Nicolas (his mind elsewhere) doesn’t listen. This sequence is about the time that Nicolas’s mild use of coercion to control his dreams and the facsimile of Daniela turns from average selfishness to darkness. It’s not as violent or awful as Jason Sudeikis’s “nice guy” Oscar in Colossal and the context softens it somewhat, but it’s all the same style of control that turns weak individuals nasty. The incorporation of Evangelion here — to be caught only by those with established nets for the esoteric reference — is significant because one of the central elements of the films is lead character Shenji’s quest for happiness, to understand that life is pain and heartbreak, but it’s also joy and love, disparate concepts all intertwined and unable to be separated. It’s also important to the themes within Daniela Forever as one of the concepts explored in Evangelion is Human Instrumentality in which all of humanity would share a single consciousness, the idea being that the removal of individuality would remove pain, shame, and other so-called negative aspects of the lived experience; something the series rejects through Shenji’s realization that a shared consciousness doesn’t solve the problems caused by life. This is what Nicolas realizes as his control over his lucid dreams falters as he approaches his last dose with the discovery that Daniela is making new art, feeling new feelings, and experiencing a life beyond his memory that no forced artifice can satisfy. Because he chose not to use the treatment for healing and, instead, used it to reinforce his grief, Nicolas grows desperate as he approaches the end of his supply, thereby making each interaction with Daniela something he begins to control more and more, trying to wring out all of his dreams without any attempt of a proper relationship. To be precise, Daniela of the dream world is an avatar, one which Grannò portrays as exactly this, a vessel for Nicholas’s desires and intention, which is why his metaphorical grip grows ever tighter on her within this realm when she starts to push away. Even within the confines of Vigalondo’s establishes rules, even when we, the audience, can understand Nicholas’s grief-fueled choices, the film never seeks to approve of the depths to which Nicolas goes in order to maintain what he believes is the perfect version of Daniela for him.
Henry Golding as Nicolas in DANIELA FOREVER. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
Not for nothing, it’s fascinating that the film spends absolutely zero time identifying why it is that Nicolas didn’t answer his phone when Daniela called. Was he purposefully not answering? If so, why not? What problem did he think he had that compels him not to answer? Was the relationship already in trouble? The only concrete information we have comes from what others tell us about Daniela and what they believe about the couple’s relationship, making one wonder how much truth there is to the dream world version of Daniela. Much in the same way that filmmaker Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman (2019) intentionally limits dialogue from the female characters (feature, not a bug), it seems to be the exact same for Vigalondo who sets up this sci-fi romantic drama to play within the framework we expect, but gives us a possibly narcissistic jackass as the perspective we follow, creating a filtered perspective that is destined to make the death of Daniela about himself, rather than giving *her* new life or shared experiences. Amusingly, this also speaks to the Evangelion of it all as the series, the first two films, and the Rebuild films that Daniela references, are each attempts by Anno to tell his story with each iteration being canonical rather than retellings; an aspect that’s lead to a theory of karmic repetition in which Shenji kept re-living the experience until he finally achieved the life he wanted/deserved. The ending of Daniela Forever somewhat tackles this thematically (though not directly) which may leave some viewers scratching their heads, but for those familiar with Anno’s tale, the similarity of the themes will provide enough of a foundation to understand what Vigalondo seeks to accomplish through the narrative journey.
Henry Golding as Nicolas in DANIELA FOREVER. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
For those hoping to have something concrete to cling to, the physical edition of Daniela Forever includes no supplemental materials. Looking back on the physical release of Colossal, that title only included a deleted scene. The upcoming 4K UHD edition of Timecrimes from Vinegar Syndrome does include several interviews, essays, and archival materials, so there may be hope for a new version of Colossal or Daniela Forever to come out down the road that would include supplemental making-of resources to better understand the film from the filmmaker’s perspective and/or other critical viewpoints. There’s so much intention in the work — from the in-camera practical effects to the incorporation of Evangelion to the CG that constructs the pervasive threat of dream collapse — that the fact there’s no included discussion makes a potential-rich film seem a little smaller due to the absence. At the bare minimum, the on-disc presentation is solid, even as a made-on-demand disc with the visual and auditory components providing an engaging viewing experience.
L-R: Henry Golding as Nicolas and Beatrice Grannò as Daniela in DANIELA FOREVER. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
Though my experience with Vigalondo’s work is confined to Colossal and Daniela Forever, he is absolutely a filmmaker whose work I will seek out when possible. His characters are messy, their lives strangely mundane and average, and are frequently put into extra-ordinary situations that are tied to their traumatic experiences. This creates a framework for the filmmaker to get weird and inspired in the execution of thematic concepts that a straight approach wouldn’t allow, whether it’s linking a kaiju to a recovering alcoholic as a means to explore unaddressed rage, depression, and abuse *or* lost love and the desire to control outcomes in the face of perceived abandonment. Despite the characters being grey in design, we find ourselves rooting for them or, at the very least, possessing an understanding of their motives so that empathy drives our interest in their journey. We don’t have to love a character to empathize with their pain or to feel the depths of their longing upon their release. It helps, but it’s not necessary. In fact, for some, the messy characters give audiences something more interesting to grapple with post-watch as stories don’t end just because the credits appear, we just don’t get to see what happens next. Vigalondo creates worlds worth wrestling with and that’s the reason I’ll keep coming back.
So, to Vigalondo, I say, “Congratulations.”
No bonus features included with this release.
Available on digital July 22nd, 2025.
Available on Blu-ray and DVD October 21st, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Well Go USA Daniela Forever webpage.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
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Categories: Home Video, Reviews, streaming
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