Spanish Film Festival on this fortnight, so up In Melbourne for 4 days.
Got time for 8 movies at the Kino. Trying to get to Ocho with Javier Rey, a love story over 8 (Ocho) decades…pre-Civil War to the present, and El 47, an attempt to keep the 47 bus running in Barcelona. Unfortunately can’t make those 2 work.
Started with Verano en Diciembre (Summer in December) about a family of 4 sisters, mother and grandmother commemorating the death of the father/grandfather/son. Carmen Machi (in everything recently), Victoria Luengo (Red Queen), Barbara Lennie. They’re looking for 90-odd year granny who’s losing it, Paloma, who’s driven round the bend by her mother, Alicia, who’s been jilted by a married man and the married Carmen who’s a bit of a ratbag. Noelia has a boyfriend in Argentina which gives us the title. Bit slow to start with but builds up to a very good film. Watch out for the big nude scene near the end. The actress who played granny has already died.
Second film was Milonga, which is the word for a tango session. Rosa is a widow whose jailed son (and his wife) refuse to talk to him for an unknown reason. It’s essentially two movies inexpertly joined. It’s all set in Uruguay, and Rosa is played by the queen of Chilean cinema.
Buggered up today. Was hoping for one film, but misread the schedule, so saw a tribute to Miguel Gila who brought stand-up comedy to Spain, when tensions from the Civil War were high and he was on the losing side. Most of the film was his part in the war where he kept the spirits higher, and finished with a presentation of his monologues which largely consisted of his mock telephone calls to an enemy. The name of the film is Es El Enemigo? (Is that the enemy?). The show of his last performance concludes the film, and he died with a few days of making the show at 81.
Thursday…one shocker, one was pretty good
Samana Sunrise…2 long-term friend couples head off to the Dominican Republic for a holiday, and it all goes to crap. They’ve known each other before they all married. Second day they wake up, and in everyone’s mind, they’re each married to the other partner, but wait…it gets worse…day 3 the two sheilas are a couple. -5/10 mainly because it’s something the seppos would make and the Facebook crew would wonder why it wasn’t gathering all the Oscars.
Second was A Silent Death(Una Muerte Silenciosa). Set in Patagonia, a teenage girl is shot with a German Mauser machine-pistol, and no-one knows where this pistol has come from or belongs to…maybe from when all those Nazis fled to Patagonia after WW2. The girl’s mother was the main female star of Caught, a recent Harlan Coben series Caught, set in Patagonia. Magnificent mountainous scenery. A good 7.
Final 2…and both pretty good.
Linda…Wealthy Buenos Aires couple are about to have a party for their silver wedding and the maid is crook. Her friend, Linda, steps in and, while she’s not your standard uniformed mid, she does a good cleaning job. However she has a different effect on each resident. Dad and the teenage boy are both entranced, but without returned interest, so they have to take matters in hand and sort themselves out. The daughter, Mati, reckons she’s a show and dumps her long term boyfriend, and Mum’s declared the winner. Tijuana brass ensues.
Last one is Ocho, an allegorical story of the history of Spain from 14/4/1931, the election day of the Second Republic. At that time, 2 children were born in a town which had two parts, the Republican part and the Nationalist (i.e. Church) part. The boy, Octavio, the Nationalist, and the girl, Adela, the Republican. And all the way through, for 90 years exactly, as significant events happened in Spain, the two met and represented various events. Even at a final party on their 90th birthday, the two sides were bickering away. Probably helps if you know a bit of modern Spanish history, but I thought it was very good. Of course, the Second Republic lasted 5 years before descending into a vicious civil war and 37 years of Fascist dictatorship led by Franco.
