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San Sebastian Film Festival · 2009

San Sebastian Film Festival 2009

Official Selection

The competition strand of the festival. Films fight it out for the prestigious Golden and Silver Shell awards. No one film can receive more than two prizes.

Programme

17 films · 9 reviews

Jump to a film

10 To 11 (11'e 10 kala)

A collector struggles to save his acquisitions when his neighbours lobby to have their homes rebuilt.

(Country: Turkey, France, Germany; Year: 2009; Director: Pelin Esmer; Writer: Pelin Esmer; Stars: Nejat Isler, Mithat Esmer, Laçin Ceylan, Tayanç Ayaydin, Savas Akova)

Blessed

Review preview for Blessed

A slow-burning, emotionally haunting film that thrusts the bond between mother and child under a microscope.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Seven children wander the streets at night, before we see the odyssey from their mothers' perspective.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2009; Director: Ana Kokkinos; Writer: Andrew Bovell, Patricia Cornelius, Melissa Reeves, Christos Tsiolkas; Stars: Frances O'Connor, Miranda Otto, Deborra-Lee Furness, Sophie Lowe, Tasma Walton, Costas Kilias, Harrison Gilbertson, Eva Lazzaro, Dennis Kreusler, Victoria Haralabidou, Samuel Ross Forbes Wright, Monica Maughan, Eamon Farren, Anastasia Babbousouris, Wayne Blair)

Full review See: San Sebastian Film Festival: Day Seven report and reviews - London River, Yuki & Nina , San Sebastian Film Festival: Day Six reports and reviews - Blessed, Together and Sir Ian McKellen picks up Donostia

Chloe

Review preview for Chloe

Once - and if - you accept that this is a B-movie plot, it is possible to find a level of enjoyment from its undeniably A-movie trappings.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
When a wife hires a prostitute to test her husband's fidelity, trouble isn't far behind.

(Country: US, Canada; Year: 2009; Director: Atom Egoyan; Writer: Erin Cressida Wilson; Stars: Amanda Seyfried, Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, Max Thieriot) , Trailer

Full review See: Atom Egoyan interview about Chloe , San Sebastian Film Festival 2009: Diary, Chloe, Inglourious Basterds and Whatever Works reviews

City Of Life And Death (Nanjing Nanjing)

Review preview for City Of Life And Death

Rather than pursue a nationalist agenda, director Lu Chuan searches for humanity in all his characters, and all his characters are flawed.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Dramatisation of the Rape of Nanjing, seen from a dual perspective.

(Country: China, Hong Kong; Year: 2009; Director: Chuan Lu; Writer: Chuan Lu; Stars: Ye Liu, Yuanyuan Gao, Hideo Nakaizumi, Wei Fan, Yiyan Jiang, Ryu Kohata, Bin Liu, John Paisley, Beverly Peckous, Lan Qin, Sam Voutas, Di Yao, Yisui Zhao, Junichi Kajioka) , Official site , Trailer

Full review

The Damned

Two former guerillas meet up while trying to find the corpse of a comrade from 30 years before.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2009; Director: Isaki Lacuesta; Stars: Daniel Fanego, Arturo Goetz, Leonor Manso, María Fiorentino)

The Dancer And The Thief (El baile de la victoria)

(Country: Spain; Year: 2009; Director: Fernando Trueba; Writer: Antonio Skármeta, Fernando Trueba, Jonás Trueba; Stars: Ricardo Darín, Abel Ayala, Miranda Bodenhofer, Ariadna Gil, Julio Jung, Mario Guerra, Marcia Haydée, Luis Dubó, Luis Gnecco, Mariana Loyola, Gloria Münchmeyer, Gregory Cohen, Catalina Guerra, Catalina Saavedra, Sergio Hernández)

See: Diary article about the San Sebastian Film Festival

Get Low

Review preview for Get Low

Although this is worth watching purely for Duvall's superb turn, he doesn't want for support.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Heatwarming tale of redemption, partially based on the true story of a hermit who threw his own funeral... while he was still alive.

(Country: US; Year: 2009; Director: Aaron Schneider; Writer: C Gaby Mitchell, Chris Provenzano, based on a story by Aaron Schneider, Scott Seeke; Stars: Bill Murray, Robert Duvall, Lucas Black, Sissy Spacek, Gerald McRaney, Bill Cobbs, Andrea Powell, Shawn Knowles, Tomasz Karolak, Lori Beth Edgeman, Scott Cooper, Blerim Destani, Rebecca Grant, Jade Moser, Steven Stadler)

Full review See: San Sebastian Film Festival: Day Four Diary - Get Low, The Scouting Book For Boys and Mother

Hadewijch

Review preview for Hadewijch

For a film about the brimming over of one girl's emotional fervour, it does surprisingly little to elicit a 'gut response' from the audience.

Amber Wilkinson · 2.5 out of 5
Exploration of religious extremism as viewed through the eyes of a young woman.

(Country: France; Year: 2009; Director: Bruno Dumont; Writer: Bruno Dumont; Stars: Julie Sokolowski, Yassine Salihine, David Dewaele, Karl Sarafidis) , Official site

Full review See: San Sebastian Film Festival report and reviews: Hadewijch, The Limits Of Control

I Came From Busan (Yeong-Do Da-Ri)

A girl who gives her baby up for adoption finds she can't get the child out of her head.

(Country: North Korea; Year: 2009; Director: Jeon Soo-il; Stars: Park Ha-seon, Kim Jung-tae)

Making Plans For Lena

A single mum has to contend with her family of dogooders, desperate to make her 'happy'.

(Country: France; Year: 2009; Director: Christophe Honoré)

Me, Too (Yo también)

A man - the first European with Down's syndrome to get a university diploma - falls for a workmate with no apparent disability.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2009; Director: Antonio Naharro, Álvaro Pastor; Writer: Antonio Naharro, Álvaro Pastor; Stars: Lola Dueñas, Isabel García Lorca, Antonio Naharro, Teresa Arbolí, Joaquín Perles, Ramiro Alonso, Consuelo Trujillo, Susana Monje, Pablo Pineda, Ana De los Riscos, María Bravo, Pepe Quero, Daniel Parejo, Roma Calderón, Tania Román)

Mother And Child

Review preview for Mother And Child

Bening’s performance is a triumph over leaden writing.

Sophie Monks Kaufman · 2 out of 5
Tale of three women and maternal love.

(Country: US, Spain; Year: 2009; Director: Rodrigo García; Writer: Rodrigo García; Stars: Annette Bening, Kerry Washington, Naomi Watts, Samuel L Jackson, Jimmy Smits, David Morse, Carla Gallo, Tatyana Ali, Amy Brenneman, Marc Blucas, Brittany Robertson, Cherry Jones, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Ahmed Best, S. Epatha Merkerson) , Official site

Full review

Le Refuge (The Refuge)

Review preview for Le Refuge

Emotions run like torrents through François Ozon's Le Refuge, despite the apparent simplicity of the surface narrative.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A pregnant woman whose boyfriend dies of an overdose forms an unexpected bond with his brother.

(Country: France; Year: 2009; Director: François Ozon; Writer: Mathieu Hippeau, François Ozon; Stars: Isabelle Carré, Louis-Ronan Choisy, Pierre Louis-Calixte, Melvil Poupaud) , Trailer

Full review See: Seeking refuge , San Sebastian Film Festival: Day 2 - El Secreto De Sus Ojos (The Secret Of Their Eyes), Le Refuge, Norteado (Northless)

The Secret In Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos, The Secret Of Their Eyes)

Review preview for The Secret In Their Eyes

This is a strong story, encompassing romance, thriller aspects, comedy and even political intrigue, zipping back and forward in time but always carrying you with it to a conclusion that is thoroughly satisfying on all counts.

Amber Wilkinson · 5 out of 5
A man looks back at a crime that happened a quarter of a century previously.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2009; Director: Juan José Campanella; Writer: Juan José Campanella, Eduardo Sacheri; Stars: Ricardo Darín, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago, Javier Godino, Guillermo Francella, José Luis Gioia, Mario Alarcón, Mariano Argento, Fernando Pardo, Maximiliano Trento, David Di Napoli)

Full review See: Juan José Campanella interview about The Secret In Their Eyes (El Secreto De Sus Ojos)

This Is Love

Review preview for This Is Love

Obsessive/misguided love is a subject ripe for exploration and although he makes a fair stab at it, Matthias Glasner’s film lacks the structural stability to fully do it justice.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
A man who stole a nine-year-old from human traffickers forms an unusual relationship with a police inspector... as she interrogates him about a murder.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2009; Director: Matthias Glasner; Writer: Matthias Glasner, Alex Ross; Stars: Richard Sammel, Soenke Möhring, Jesper Christensen, Jürgen Vogel, Corinna Harfouch, Jens Albinus, Devid Striesow, Herbert Knaup, Marina Bouras, Jördis Triebel, Knut Berger, Matthias Glasner, Hannes Wegener, Marie-Anne Fliegel, Margarita Broich) , Official site

Full review See: San Sebastian Film Festival: Day Four Diary - Get Low, The Scouting Book For Boys and Mother , Diary article about the San Sebastian Film Festival

The White Meadows (Keshtzarhaye Sepid)

A man travels round a series of islands, collecting tears.

(Year: 2009; Director: Mohammad Rasoulof; Stars: Hasan Pourshirazi, Younes Ghazali, Mohammad Rabbani, Mohammad Shirvani)

Woman Without Piano (La mujer sin piano)

Twenty-four hours in the life of a Madrid housewife.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2009; Director: Javier Rebollo; Writer: Lola Mayo, Javier Rebollo; Stars: Carmen Machi, Nadia de Santiago, Tomás del Estal, Jan Budar, Esperanza De la Vega, Luis Antonio Espinosa, Pep Ricart)