 |
| Spanish Affair is the biggest box office hit in Spain. |
The second edition of the Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival launched last night with a screening of Las Sinsombrero at the city's Filmhouse - a documentary by Tania Balló celebrating a generation of 'forgotten' female Spanish filmmakers during the rule of General Franco. The film was followed by a discussion with the director. The festival runs until October 10 - here are some highlights to look out for.
Magical Girl - Winner of the Golden Shell at the 2014 San Sebastian Film Festival, this barbed black comedy sees director Carlos Vermut play around with genre in his three-pronged tale of a father whose daughter is terminally ill, a masochistic femme fatale and sinister teacher, all caught up in a web of blackmail. Unpredictable and mysterious, its darker moments may be a bit much for some viewers, but it begs to be watched more than once.
The Unbeatables - One of the best shots in Juan Jose Campanella's Foreign Language Oscar winning film The Secret Of Their Eyes was a swooping camera moving down into a football stadium. He gets to play around a lot more courtesy of this animation about a man who embarks on an adventure with the players of a plastic football table. Rich with visual humour and the sort of pace and agility favoured by Lionel Messi, it offers jokes that will appeal to all ages and even those who think the game is anything but beautiful.
The Spanish Affair - The biggest box office hit in Spain, this culture clash romantic comedy is about a man from Seville who poses as the fiance of a woman from a Basque country with predictably farcical results. Described by our reviewer as "admittedly - and proudly - corny, it also has the goofily-goodnatured charm of its male lead and moments of laugh-out-loud funniness".
Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed - This warm and gentle comedy, set in Sixties Spain, is inspired by real events that saw John Lennon visit Almeria to shoot Richard Lester's How I Won The War. David Trueba crafts an enjoyable road movie that sees a misfit teacher who is desperate to meet his singing idol befriend a young woman in trouble and a teenage runaway. Measured and, ultimately, moving, it features a great central performance by Javier Camara as the bumbling but loveable Beatle-obsessive.
Flowers - Jon Garaño and Jose Mari Goenaga's drama - selected by Spain to compete for the 2016 Foreign Language Oscar - outlines how bunches of flowers become catalysts for change for three women. The first, facing early menopause discovers she has a secret admirer, who begins to send her weekly bouquets, much to the irritation of her husband. As this melancholic but humanistic film slowly builds, her life will unexpectedly touch that of a toll booth operator and her overbearing mother-in-law, who are hit by sudden tragedy. The apparent simple surface of this drama holds emotional turbulence beneath.
For more information about the festival line-up, visit the official site.
