The Windshield Wiper

By Jamie August 4, 2026No Comments

Director: Alberto Mielgo
Studio: Pastel Productions, Pinkman.TV, Leo Sanchez Studio, Many Enterprises
Release Date: July 13, 2021
Run Time: 14 minutes
Genres: Drama
Where to Find It: Website
Rating:

Inside a cafe while smoking a whole pack of cigarettes, a man poses an ambitious question: "What is Love?". A collection of vignettes and situations will lead the man to the desired conclusion.

Review

The Windshield Wiper is a short film made up of vignettes that portray the many facets of modern love. A man sitting in a cafe meditating on the meaning of love while listening to gossip from other patrons, a man running to get his lover back, a pair of serial daters glued to the dating apps on their phone miss the opportunity for a chance meeting, a couple smokes a cigarette in companionable silence, and many more.

Love is life, pain, romance, sex, death, commitment, familial, sacrifice, it’s something to chase and at times something to run from. The film can be a little pretentious, Mielgo himself acknowledges this in interviews. Despite that, I still found it enjoyable. The film acknowledges how romance has evolved over time yet in other ways hasn’t changed at all.

The entire piece is beautifully animated with impressive painted art, his ability to paint light on a 2D background is amazing to look at. The art and the brief 15 minute runtime makes this film a worthwhile watch, especially now that it is available to watch free online.

I took an interest in Alberto Mielgo’s work thanks to his work on LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS, his contributions were among some of my favorite episodes in the entire series, and I’m excited to see where he goes next.

Quote

“Sometimes we can want things way too bad that the energy pushes that exact thing that we want away. It’s not a want anymore, it’s an obsession.”