Recent Spanish Cinema 2015

21st Spanish Film Festival

Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood - October 15-18, 2015

 

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15 at 7:30 - Opening Night

MARSHLAND     

LA ISLA MINIMA

2014, Outsider Pictures, 105 min, Spain, Dir: Alberto Rodriguez

Spain’s democracy was still on wobbly legs in 1980, particularly in the backwater of Andalusia where this tense crime drama is set. City policemen Juan (Javier Gutiérrez) and Pedro (Raúl Arévalo) are dispatched to the depressed rural area to investigate the disappearance of two sisters; the cops’ differing backgrounds – one a ruthless veteran, the other an idealistic rookie – lead to increasingly unsettling discoveries. Winner of 10 Goya Awards, including Best Film, Director, Lead Actor (Gutiérrez) and Cinematography (Alex Catalán’s aerial shots are truly dazzling). “This superbly crafted, richly textured thriller is one of the strongest Spanish films of the year.” - Jonathan Holland, The Hollywood Reporter. In Spanish with English subtitles.


FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16 at 7:30 - Double Feature!

HAPPY 140

FELICES 140

2015, Latido Films, 98 min, Spain, Dir: Gracia Querejeta

 

                

Elia (Maribel Verdu) has just hit the jackpot – literally. One of the things she spends her 140 million Euro lottery prize on is a 40th-birthday bash in the Canary Islands, to which she invites a motley group of family and friends, including the ex she still pines for. But proximity to wealth can warp even the closest relationships, and the reunion soon takes a shocking turn. “Querejeta has assembled one of the best possible casts which Spanish cinema can provide.” - Jonathan Holland, The Hollywood Reporter. In Spanish with English subtitles.

SIDETRACKED

LAS OVEJAS NO PIERDEN EL TREN

2014, Film Factory, 103 min, Spain, Dir: Alvaro Fernandez Armero

 

                

The midlife crises of three Spanish couples provide the laughs in this gleeful ensemble comedy. Luisa (Inma Cuesta of THREE MANY WEDDINGS) and Alberto (Raúl Arévalo) move to the countryside, thinking it a better place to raise kids, though the change puts a damper on their sex life. Luisa’s sister (Candela Peña) and Alberto’s brother (Alberto San Juan) have their own relationship challenges - her obsessive pursuit scares men away, while his much-younger girlfriend is a little on the impulsive side. In Spanish with English subtitles.


FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16 at 8:00 - Spielberg Theatre

SHREW’S NEST

MUSARAÑAS

2014, Film Factory, 95 min, Spain/France, Dir: Juanfer Andrés, Esteban Roel

 

                

First-time feature directors Juanfer Andrés and Esteban Roel (and producer Alex De La Iglesia) lead viewers through a terrifying psychological maze in 1950s Spain. At its center is the apartment of Montse (Macarena Gómez, in one of the wildest performances you’ll see all year), who has raised her younger sister to the brink of adulthood. But agoraphobia and religious ritual have taken their toll on Montse, and when an injured young man (Hugo Silva) turns up at the door, help is the last thing she gives him. With Luis Tosar as the spectral father figure. In Spanish with English subtitles.


SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 at 7:30 - Double Feature!

REQUIREMENTS TO BE A NORMAL PERSON

REQUISITOS PARA SER UNA PERSONA NORMAL

2015, 90 min, Spain, Dir: Leticia Dolera

 

 

Everybody tries to fit in, but few people go about it as methodically as Maria de las Montañas (writer-director Leticia Dolera), who hopes to reach normality through a seven-item checklist. Her mentally challenged younger brother (Jordi Llodrà) and overweight friend (Manuel Burque) seem to have most of the bases covered, and the success of Maria’s quest may boil down to just being herself. Brightly colored and boasting a jangly folk score from Luthea Salom, this romantic comedy is, as one might hope from its title, charmingly eccentric. Winner of the Best New Screenwriter, Cinematography and Editing Awards at the Málaga Spanish Film Festival. In Spanish with English subtitles.

OFF COURSE

PERDIENDO EL NORTE

2015, DeAPlaneta International, 102 min, Spain, Dir: Nacho Garcia Velilla

 

                

Hugo (Yon González) and Braulio (Julián López) both have university degrees and no jobs. They think they can escape the economic doldrums by leaving Spain for Germany, but what looked like a land of opportunity on TV presents more challenges to the two friends than they expected in this sparkling comedy. One of the most successful films of the year in Spain! In Castilian and German with English subtitles.


SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18 at 7:30 - Double Feature!

MAGICAL GIRL

2014, Films Distribution, 127 min, Spain/France, Dir: Carlos Vermut

 

                

Luis (Luis Bermejo) has a 12-year-old daughter with a terminal illness and a last wish – to have a dress just like the main character of her favorite Japanese anime series. The unemployed professor doesn’t have the money to purchase the dress, but thinks he can get it with a little help from a former teacher (José Sacristán) and an unbalanced young woman (Goya and Feroz winner Bárbara Lennie). Vermut’s sure directorial hand weaves multiple storylines together in this haunting (and occasionally intense) drama. In Spanish with English subtitles.

NOTHING IN RETURN

A CAMBIO DE NADA

2015, 6 Sales, 93 min, Spain, Dir: Daniel Guzmán

                

Seeking escape from his parents’ acrimonious divorce, teen Dario (Miguel Herrán) gets into minor scrapes with lifelong buddy Luismi (Antonio Bachiller) and finds a surrogate family in Madrid with a mechanic and a 90-year-old junk dealer. With his background as an actor, writer-director Guzmán has a sharp eye for detail, and this Málaga Best Film winner has an appealing naturalism from first frame to last. “A high-energy, feel-good movie with the warmest of hearts.” – Jonathan Holland, The Hollywood Reporter. In Spanish with English subtitles.