There is a moment in Alonso Longoria's Los hijos de las nubes (or Sons of the Clouds) that sums up the situation of Western Sahara in all its tragedy and absurdity. It is when, after a five-hour wait, first-time director Longoria and his collaborators (that include Oscar-winning actor Javier Bardem) finally get an audience with a representative of the Algerian government. Once the man is informed that the interview concerns his country's role in the conflict over Western Sahara, his evasiveness is almost comical: “How long will this take? No, no... sorry,” he says, “I've got a meeting on the other side of town and there's a lot of traffic.” Cut to a later shot of Bardem who simply … [Read more...] about Throwing a light on Western Sahara’s tragedy
IberoArts
‘Seis puntos sobre Emma’: Blind motivation?
Seis puntos sobre Emma tells the story of Emma, a blind woman of around 30 who is attempting to get pregnant, with Machiavellian calculation. Interviews with director Roberto Pérez Toledo (himself a wheelchair-user) reveal that one of the main aims behind his film was to offer a portrait of a blind person as a flawed human being rather than a victim. Perhaps it is because I have grown up with visually impaired people, but whenever I see a film purporting to offer this kind of insight into the life of someone with a disability my first reaction is: tell me something new. After all, films featuring portrayals of disabled characters as strong and capable individuals already exist, albeit … [Read more...] about ‘Seis puntos sobre Emma’: Blind motivation?
Bilbao celebrates 15 years of Guggenheim-inspired transformation
When Frank O. Gehry won a limited competition to design Bilbao’s new art museum in the early 1990s, the idea was to turn an old brick factory along a bend in the Nervión River into a cultural focal point for a city that had seen its traditional industries, such as shipbuilding and mining, virtually disappear by the late 20th century. Gehry had designed the Fish (1992) sculpture for Barcelona’s Port Olímpic, utilizing computer-aided design (his first use of CAD for a major project) to model its sweeping curves. In Bilbao, he would employ similar methods, resulting in what appear to be random organic forms (reminiscent of billowing sails) with the combination of seemingly incongruous … [Read more...] about Bilbao celebrates 15 years of Guggenheim-inspired transformation
‘Extraterrestre’: entertaining alien farce just misses the mark
Those who have seen Nacho Vigalondo's debut feature Los Cronocrímenes will be familiar with the director's style. In terms of uniqueness, he is more on a par with the likes of Wes Anderson than Clint Eastwood. And much like Anderson, you either dig his particular vision of the world or you don't. Humour, mixed with a healthy dose of darkness, is an essential ingredient of Vigalondo's work and Extraterrestre (or Extraterrestrial) is no different. The laughs and lighter moments are frequent but they are accompanied by an underlying sensation of subtle menace (one of the most classic examples of this is his 2003 Oscar-nominated short movie 7.35 de la mañana. As in Los Cronocrímenes, in … [Read more...] about ‘Extraterrestre’: entertaining alien farce just misses the mark
Latest ‘[REC]’ instalment offers schlock over terror
REC3 Genesis, the latest movie in Spain’s celebrated zombie franchise, invites viewers to the swank marriage of cooing lovebirds Koldo and Clara. And the nuptial backdrop is a canny move. Director Paco Plaza has rightly realised that weddings - stuffed with religious symbolism, overrun with staggering inebriates and blinded by gaudy dance-floor lights - are a little like a horror movie anyway. Once the guests start eating each other, what’s the difference? The first two films in the series, shot à la The Blair Witch Project with first-person perspective and handheld cameras, played out in a cursed, zombie-infested Barcelona apartment block. The second instalment took up where the … [Read more...] about Latest ‘[REC]’ instalment offers schlock over terror
Red Lights: The sceptics are heroes in paranormal movie thriller
In the opening minutes of Red Lights, the new paranormal thriller by Spanish director Rodrigo Cortés, Dr Margaret Matheson (Sigourney Weaver) and Tom Buckley (Cillian Murphy) arrive at a house on a hill to investigate a reported ghost. Big, old and surrounded by skeletal trees - the place certainly looks haunted. But the thing is, it isn’t. The suspected poltergeist is just an unhappy little girl, slamming her wardrobe door to scare the bejesus out of mum and dad. Case closed. By day, Matheson and Buckley teach paranormal scepticism to psychology students and by night and on the weekends, they’re a hoax-fighting duo, exposing alleged hauntings and fraudulent psychics. But they meet their … [Read more...] about Red Lights: The sceptics are heroes in paranormal movie thriller
The Serrat–Sabina generation: sitting comfortably
Looking back over the last 50 years of so of popular music, it’s probably a safe enough conclusion to draw that at least one of the secrets of a performer’s enduring popularity is to be inexorably associated with fast-changing times. For most of us, however banal it might seem to the rest of the world — and we may ourselves not even realise it at the time — there is always a moment in life after which things are never quite the same; a high point or an event, a moment, after which events overtake us; when we grow up and settle down to earning a living, raising a family; that sort of thing. For the more Romantic among us, the times leading up to that high point in life, otherwise known … [Read more...] about The Serrat–Sabina generation: sitting comfortably
Goya 2012: no joy for Almodóvar
I can’t say I was unhappy to be proved wrong in predicting the winners at Sunday’s Goya Awards. Never believe the media. Given the hype, Pedro Almodóvar’s The Skin I Live In looked set to sweep the board, with 16 nominations. But instead the Spanish Film Academy gave the best prizes to Enrique Urbizu’s No Rest for the Wicked, which carried off Best Picture and Best Director, while veteran José Coronado took Best Actor for his portrayal of a maverick cop in the gritty police thriller — the fabulous curly perm he sports in the role was worth an award in itself. Interviewed as he entered the gala event at Madrid’s Opera House, Almodóvar gave the impression he had been tipped off that he … [Read more...] about Goya 2012: no joy for Almodóvar
Franco in a fridge: he pulls in the punters, but is he art?
More than 36 years after heading for the great military dictatorship in the sky, General Francisco Franco proved his enduring pulling power by stealing the show at last week’s annual ARCO contemporary art fair, appearing in a fridge and as a fast-spinning bust; even his eyebrows were a big draw. Siempre Franco (Forever Franco) was the star attraction at the five-day artfest, a life-size hyperrealist representation of the man who ruled Spain with an iron fist for four decades. The piece was created by Eugenio Merino out of resin, silicon, and human hair, and was decked out in Franco’s trademark green military uniform with purple sash, red cummerbund, and dark sunglasses, crouching inside a … [Read more...] about Franco in a fridge: he pulls in the punters, but is he art?
Spain’s film dubbing: ghost of a fascist past must be laid to rest
Most ex-patriots living and working in Spain will be all too aware of the Spanish penchant for dubbing foreign-language films. Whether Spanish-speaking or not, this is enormously irritating, particularly for those of us not living in more cosmopolitan cities like Madrid or Barcelona, with more cinemas showing films in original version. The nearest big city to me is San Sebastián, which hosts an annual international film festival famed for its predilection for the avant-garde. Throughout the festival, all showings are in original version and San Sebastián is extremely proud of its cinematic culture. Yet after almost 60 years of hosting the event, there is still only one small, two-screen … [Read more...] about Spain’s film dubbing: ghost of a fascist past must be laid to rest