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San Sebastian Film Festival · 2013

San Sebastian Film Festival 2013

Made in Spain

Selection of some of the best Spanish films from the past year.

Programme

11 films · 3 reviews

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15 years + 1 Day (15 años y un día)

A teenager is packed off to his grandfather's in a bid to bring him into line, forcing them both to confront their limitations and fears.

(Year: 2012; Director: Gracia Querejeta)

Barefoot And In The Kitchen (Con la pata quebrada)

Review preview for Barefoot And In The Kitchen

Worth seeing to remind ourselves how far Spanish women have come (and what they risk losing once more in Spain's current political climate).

Rebecca Naughten · 3.5 out of 5
The evolution of how women have been represented in Spanish cinema, from the 1930s to the present day.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2013; Director: Diego Galán; Writer: Diego Galán; Stars: Carlos Hipólito)

Full review See: London Spanish Film Festival preview

A Gun In Each Hand (Una pistola en cada mano)

An ironic and merciless portrayal of the failings, weaknesses and other "virtues" of today's men: lost and confused as they search for a new identity.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2012; Director: Cesc Gay; Writer: Tomàs Aragay, Cesc Gay; Stars: Javier Cámara, Ricardo Darín, Eduard Fernández, Jordi Mollà, Eduardo Noriega, Alberto San Juan, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Luis Tosar, Cayetana Guillén Cuervo, Candela Peña, Clara Segura, Leonor Watling, Ernesto Villegas, Mar Ulldemolins, Sílvia Abril)

I'm So Excited

Review preview for I'm So Excited

The sexual and gender politics that course through Almodovar's best work are in evidence here but there's a distinct lack of focus, leaving the film a somewhat forced flight of fancy.

David Graham · 2.5 out of 5
When a plane is imperilled the passengers try to forget their plight but in the process discover the dangers of openness.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2013; Director: Pedro Almodóvar; Writer: Pedro Almodóvar; Stars: Javier Cámara, Pepa Charro, Lola Dueñas, Antonio Banderas, Penélope Cruz)

Full review

Invader (Invasor)

A thriller by Daniel Calparsoro starring Pablo, an army doctor posted in Iraq. Following an attack that almost costs him his life, Pablo returns to Spain, where he has to decide whether to become a whistleblower.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2012; Director: Daniel Calparsoro; Writer: Jorge Arenillas, Javier Gullón, Fernando Marías; Stars: Alberto Ammann, Antonio de la Torre, Inma Cuesta, Karra Elejalde, Luis Zahera, Alex Hafner, Sofía Oria, Benjamin Nathan-Serio, Bernabé Fernández, Isabel Blanco, Abdelatif Hwidar, Fran Peleteiro, Francisco Vera, Julio Pereira, Iriome del Toro)

Map (Mapa)

Midway between documentary and fiction, this is a road-movie narrated in first person about a young filmmaker who travels to India in search of a new "map" for love, for life.

(Country: Spain, India; Year: 2012; Director: León Siminiani; Writer: León Siminiani; Stars: León Siminiani)

Othello (Otello)

A film on Shakespeare's Othello. A thorough (almost abusive) casting for an intense, risky adaptation and a director determined to get the most from his actors, with no moral, legal or sexual scruples.

(Year: 2013; Director: Hammudi Al-Rahmoun Font )

People In Places (Gente en sitios)

Comedy, drama, social chronicle, horror and surrealism with a common denominator: the uncompromising poetry of of the human condition against the onslaught of the unusual and the chaotic.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2013; Director: Juan Cavestany; Writer: Juan Cavestany; Stars: Ernesto Alterio, Carlos Areces, Raúl Arévalo, Luis Bermejo, Jorge Cabrera, Antonio de la Torre, Tusti Heras de las, Irene Escolar, Miguel Esteban, Eduard Fernández, Raquel Guerrero, Javier Gutiérrez, Eva Llorach, David Luque, Coque Malla)

The Plague (La Plaga)

Review preview for The Plague

The characters may be variously plagued by debt, illness and emotional strain but they also prove there is conoslation in friendship and that a single shared chocolate can be more important and touching than a thousand words.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Five people struggle to get by in the tough economic conditions around Barcelona.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2013; Director: Neus Ballús; Stars: Raül Molist, Maria Ros, Rosemarie Abella, Iurie Timbur, Maribel Martí)

Full review

The Wishful Thinkers (Los ilusos)

A film about the desire to make films, or about what some filmmakers do when they are not making movies.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2013; Director: Jonás Trueba; Writer: Jonás Trueba; Stars: Francesco Carril, Aura Garrido, Luis Miguel Madrid, Vito Sanz, Isabelle Stoffel, Mikele Urroz, Andrea Vicunia)

Yesterday Never Ends (Ayer No Termina Nunca)

Ten years after their son's death, his parents meet at the site of his grave, which is about to be bulldozed to make way for a mega-casino.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2013; Director: Isabel Coixet; Stars: Javier Cámara, Candela Peña)