Before embarking on an article about Oliver van der Zee's recent documentary El último magnate, an important question to ask is why this film about the little-known yet groundbreaking Spanish mogul Horacio Echevarrieta has been all but overlooked in his home turf of the Basque Country (not to mention much of the rest of Spain). Perhaps one clue is director José Antonio Hergueta's comment to El País that Echevarrieta “was the man of the moment in Spain, the most famous, the richest; a pioneer and innovator...(but) these days no-one even in the Basque Country remembers who he was.” All attempts to watch this 80-minute documentary (known internationally as The Last Tycoon and part … [Read more...] about An all-too-fleeting break from obscurity for Horacio Echevarrieta
Paris
It’s gonna be a love fest at the Goya awards
With 16 nominations, Pedro Almodóvar's The Skin I Live In (La piel que habito) will probably sweep the board on Sunday February 19, when Spain’s Film Academy announces the winners in the 26th annual Goya Awards. Bringing up second place will likely be Enrique Urbizu's thriller No Rest for the Wicked, which has 14 nominations, followed by Kike Maillo's directorial debut Eva with 12. Sunday night looks set to be a very public kiss and make up between Oscar-winning Almodóvar and the Academy, bringing to an end a frosty few years. The 16 nominations end a period of chilly relations between Almodóvar and the Spanish academy, which the director quit five years ago over changes to the … [Read more...] about It’s gonna be a love fest at the Goya awards
Djokovic the joker gets serious about number 1
He likes a chuckle on court, does Novak Djokovic. Affectionately known as The Joker, one of the Serb’s favourite crowd pleasers – which he was cajoled into performing at the Rome Masters in 2009 – is an unerringly accurate impression of Rafa Nadal’s laborious pre-service routine. But Nole, as Djokovic is also known, has said there will be no more impressions: a shame, as he also does a brilliant Maria Sharapova. The reason is simple; after a seven-year Nadal-Federer hegemony over the top two ranking spots, number two Djokovic has emerged as the most likely contender to dethrone the kings of the courts since the Swiss usurped Andy Roddick in February 2004. Djokovic is unbeaten this … [Read more...] about Djokovic the joker gets serious about number 1