Volver a Empezar (Begin the Beguine, 1982)
Directed by: José Luis Garci
Written by: José Luis Garci, Ángel Llorente
Starring: Antonio Ferrandis, Encarna Paso, José Bódalo, Agustín González.
Written by Peter Berry
José Luis Garci’s earliest films, Asignatura Pendiente and Solos en la madrugada both represent attempts to portray the disruptive consequences that the democratic transition could have in the personal lives of middle class Spaniards. Volver a Empezar (Beguin the Beguine) is somewhat of a piece with these early works but is of a decidedly warmer and gentler tone. Read More…
Vente a Alemania, Pepe (Come to Germany, Pepe – 1971)
Directed by Pedro Lazaga
Written by Vicente Coello and Vicente Escrivá
Starring: Alfredo Landa, Tina Sáinz, José Sacristán
BY RAQUEL MARTÍNEZ
Economic crises and unemployment have caused Spanish natives to find work abroad in different periods of recent history. For Spaniards, top European economies (specially Germany) are often regarded as promised lands ̶ places where virtually anyone can get a fairly paid job. Recent films such as Perdiendo el norte (Off-course – Nacho García Velilla, 2014) and Un franco, 14 pesetas (Crossing Borders – Carlos Iglesias, 2006) have provided diverse perspectives on Spanish emigration to Europe. Within this context, the 1970s comedy Vente a Alemania, Pepe (Come to Germany, Pepe – Pedro Lazaga, 1971) is considered the ‘protofilm’ in the popular Spanish imagery. Read More…
Hable con ella (Talk to Her, 2002)
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar
Written by Pedro Almodóvar
Starring: Rosario Flores, Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti
BY BEATRIZ CABALLERO RODRÍGUEZ
Gender shifts in Almodóvar’s Hable con ella (Talk to her, 2002)
Winner of an Oscar to the best screenplay, Hable con ella (Talk to her, 2002) constitutes a significant shift in Pedro Almodóvar’s prolific cinematic career. In contrast with his previous films, where women always took centre stage, this time the protagonists are men. Read More…
Felices 140 (Happy 140, 2015)
Directed by Gracia Querejeta
Written by Antonio Mercero and Gracia Querejeta
Starring: Maribel Verdú, Antonio de la Torre, Eduard Fernández
BY PABLO DE CASTRO
Spain may not be the most popular country in Scotland these days – in fact it hasn’t been for quite some time now: threats back in 2014 to veto any attempt for an independent Scotland to join the EU resulted among other things in occasional calls against the rights of the Spanish fishing fleet to work in Scottish waters. The recent events in Catalonia haven’t been helpful either to improve this image of a government prone to bullying their way around. Read More…
Hermosa juventud (Beautiful Youth, 2014)
Directed by Jaime Rosales
Written by Jaime Rosales and Enric Rufas
Starring: Ingrid García Jonsson, Carlos Rodríguez, Inma Nieto
BY RAQUEL MARTÍNEZ
In December 2014, the Spanish Prime Minister ̶ Mariano Rajoy ̶ claimed that the economic crisis was ‘history’.[1] In the same year, Catalan director Jaime Rosales released Beautiful Youth, a bleak observation of the effects of such crisis on one of Spain’s most vulnerable sectors: young people. Read More…
Un perro andaluz (Un Chien Andalou, 1929)
Directed by Luis Buñuel
Written by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí
Starring: Pierre Batcheff, Simone Mareuil, Luis Buñuel, Salvador Dalí
Making sense of Buñuel’s Un chien andalou
BY BEATRIZ CABALLERO RODRIGUEZ
Daring and irreverent, Un chien andalou sets out to break expectations and to shock viewers out of their bourgeois numbed comfort. Although a black and white, silent film only seventeen minutes long, it remains one of the most influential and celebrated short-films in the history of cinema. Read More…
Volver (2006)
Written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar
Starring: Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo, Chus Lampreave
BY BEATRIZ CABALLERO RODRIGUEZ
From the outset, Pedro Almodóvar’s film Volver (2006) tackles the topics of memory and trauma across three generations of women. As the title Volver (meaning to return, to come back) indicates, this film is marked by a strong sense of disjointed time where the past refuses to stay in the past, ghosts refuse to stay buried, traumatic events refuse to be forgotten. Read More…
La isla mínima (Marshland, 2014).
Directed by Alberto Rodríguez
Written by Rafael Cobos and Alberto Rodríguez
Starring: Javier Gutiérrez, Raúl Arévalo, Antonio de la Torre.
BY R. MARTÍNEZ
2014 was an incomparable year for Spanish cinema. The Spanish film industry started to show signs of recovery from the harsh blow suffered as a result of the economic crisis and the VAT tax rise (from 8% to 21%) imposed by the Conservative Government. This rehabilitation was visible at this year’s Goya Awards where, for the first time in several years, there wasn’t just one clear favourite but a few strong contenders. Andalusian director Alberto Rodriguez achieved a considerable victory over the other nominees by taking home a total of 10 Goya awards for his film La isla mínima, including Best Film and Best Director. Read More…
El día de la bestia (The Day of the Beast, 1995)
Written and directed by Álex de la Iglesia
Starring: Álex Angulo, Santiago Segura, Armando de Razza
BY R. MARTÍNEZ
Spanish cinema lost one of its most talented and at the same time humble actors very recently. Álex Angulo, who passed away in a car accident at 61 years of age, received hundreds of condolences from fellow actors and artists right after the tragic news reached the net. He was really loved and respected in the profession, and also by the public. At this point, some non-Spanish readers might be wondering who this actor was and which films did he star in. He appeared in various Spanish TV series – Periodistas, for example – and several films. His international breakthrough came with Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy film Pan’s Labyrinth, in which he played the merciful and Republican supporter Dr Ferreiro. In Spain though, Angulo was remembered – and will always be – as Father Berriatúa, Álex de la Iglesia’s El Día de la Bestia’s popular anti-hero. Read More…
Stockholm (2013)
Directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen
Written by Rodrigo Sorogoyen and Isabel Peña
Starring Aura Garrido, Javier Pereira, Jesús Caba
BY R. MARTÍNEZ
From time to time, one watches a film whose originality and inventiveness are able to surprise and excite even the most worn out audiences’ imaginations, always looking out for a true and special cinematic experience. Stockholm provides a lot of that and a little more. It is fresh and surprising, well-shot and better performed. It is new but has a very powerful cult element to it, borrowing from very interesting sources that should not be revealed, thus intending to optimise the artistic journey that is Stockholm. The less the spectator knows about it, the better. Read More…
Spanish Film Review Club 