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San Sebastian Film Festival · 2014

San Sebastian Film Festival 2014

Zabaltegi

Programme

19 films · 5 reviews

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Basilio Martín Patino. The Tenth Letter (Basilio Martín Patino. La Décima Carta)

In 1966, Basilio Martín Patino sent nine letters to Berta. Almost fifty years later, Virginia García del Pino tries to write the tenth.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2014; Director: Virginia García del Pino)

Challat Of Tunis (Le Challat de Tunis)

A moped rider, razor blade in hand, prowls the streets of Tunis, slashing the sexiest female buttocks he can find.

(Country: Tunisia, France; Year: 2014; Director: Kaouther Ben Hania; Writer: Kaouther Ben Hania; Stars: Mohamed Slim Bouchiha, Jallel Dridi, Moufida Dridi, Narimène Saidane)

Corn Island (Simindis Kundzuli)

Review preview for Corn Island

Ovashvili tells the story with spare dialogue and absorbing attention to detail.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
An old peasant and his innocent 16-year-old granddaughter sow corn on an island in the middle of the Inguri River dividing Georgia from Abkhazia.

(Country: Georgia, Germany, France, Czech Republic, Kazakhstan; Year: 2014; Director: George Ovashvili; Writer: Roelof Jan Minneboo, George Ovashvili, Nugzar Shataidze; Stars: Ilyas Salman, Mariam Buturishvili, Irakli Samushia, Tamer Levent)

Full review

The Field (Soroa)

Dry earth, sun, wind. A procession makes its way across the landscape. The echo of their prayers brings rain.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2014; Director: Asier Altuna Iza)

Finding Fela!

Review preview for Finding Fela!

Though Gibney’s film has an interesting figure at its heart, the film never really feels like it is giving either strand of Kuti’s life: the music and the politics, enough attention.

Owen Van Spall · 3 out of 5
Documentary about a renowned Nigerian Musician who inspired many people in the music scene including Bob Marley and James Brown.

(Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: Alex Gibney; Stars: Fela Kuti, Yeni Kuti, Femi Kuti, Seun Kuti, Bill T. Jones, Okwechime Abdul, Tony Allen, Kewe Anikulapo-Kuti, Hettie Barnhill, J.K. Braimah, John Darnton, Lemi Ghariokwu, Ogugua Iwelu, Sandra Izsadore, Francis Kertekian)

Full review

Happy To Be Different (Felice chi è diverso)

An older gay couple talk about their long-term relationship.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2014; Director: Gianni Amelio; Stars: Glauco Bettera, Giorgio Bongiovanni, Mosè Bottazzi, Nicola Calì, Ciro Cascina, Francesco Cocola, Roberto David, Ninetto Davoli, John Francis Lane, Corrado Levi, Pieralberto Marchesini, Alba Montori, Claudio Mori, Fernando Nigiro, Roberto Pagliero)

In The Basement (Im Keller)

A film which seeks to depict Austrians’ relationship with their basements.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2014; Director: Ulrich Seidl; Writer: Ulrich Seidl)

The John Malkovich Paradox (Le paradoxe de John Malkovich)

Twenty-two years after playing in the Stephen Frears’s movie, John Malkovich directed Dangerous Liaisons at the Théâtre de l'Atelier in Paris... this documentary follows its progress.

(Year: 2014; Director: Pierre-François Limbosch)

The Kingdom Of Dreams And Madness (Yume to kyôki no ohkoku)

Review preview for The Kingdom Of Dreams And Madness

The mood is that of an office in which at any moment, anything is possible, a little bit like in the films created here.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
Documentary about famed animation Studio Ghibli.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2013; Director: Mami Sunada; Stars: Hideaki Anno, John Lasseter, Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki, Isao Takahata)

Full review See: Article on DOC NYC 2014 highlights

The Last Flight Of Hubert Le Blon (Hubert Le Blonen azken hegaldia)

The story of a pioneer of the engine who dreamt of dragonflies as a child and died living out his dream.

(Year: 2014; Director: Koldo Almandoz)

Li'l Quinquin (P'tit Quinquin)

Review preview for Li'l Quinquin

Dumont - for all the outlandishness of the film in other aspects - prioritises a messy realism over straightforward likeability in relation to his protagonists.

Rebecca Naughten · 4 out of 5
A blackly comic murder mystery develops in a small town in northern France.

(Country: France; Year: 2014; Director: Bruno Dumont; Writer: Bruno Dumont; Stars: Alane Delhaye, Lucy Caron, Bernard Pruvost, Philippe Jore, Philippe Peuvion, Lisa Hartmann, Jason Cirot, Julien Bodard, Corentin Carpentier, Pascal Fresch, Baptiste Anquez, Stéphane Boutillier, Frédéric Castagno, Andrée Peuvion, Lucien Chaussoy, Cindy Louguet, Céline Sauvage, Bruno Darras, Sébastien Liss, Yacine Kellal, Didier Hennuyer, Cédric Lemaire, Stéphane Gallais, Raphaël Mourgues)

Full review

My Man (Watashi no otoko)

After losing everything in a tsunami disaster, 10-year-old Hana is taken in by 26-year-old distant relative Jungo Kusarino. The pair begin living together as father and daughter while sharing a profound sense of loss.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2014; Director: Kazuyoshi Kumakiri; Writer: Kazuki Sakuraba, Takashi Ujita; Stars: Tadanobu Asano, Fumi Nikaidô, Tatsuya Fuji, Kengo Kôra, Takahiro Miura, Masaki Miura, Aoba Kawai, Mochika Yamada, Tamae Andô, Taiga, Itsuki Sagara, Moro Shioka)

Negotiator (Negociador)

Comedy centring on a Basque politician who acts as a mediator for the Spanish government in its negotiations with ETA.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2014; Director: Borja Cobeaga; Writer: Borja Cobeaga; Stars: Melina Matthews, Carlos Areces, Ramón Barea, Josean Bengoetxea)

Paco De Lucia: The Journey (Paco De Lucia: La Busqueda)

Documentary about the flamenco guitarist.

(Year: 2014)

Red Army

The story of Russia's Red Army hockey team.

(Country: US, Russia; Year: 2014; Director: Gabe Polsky; Writer: Gabe Polsky; Stars: Mark Deakins, Anatoli Karpov, Vyacheslav Fetisov)

Rocks In My Pockets

Review preview for Rocks In My Pockets

It is funny and serious by turns... full of striking and humorous images.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
An animated film exploring living with illness.

(Country: US, Latvia; Year: 2014; Director: Signe Baumane; Writer: Signe Baumane; Stars: Signe Baumane)

Full review

Violent

A young woman in Bergen recalls five people who have loved her as she faces tragedy.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2014; Director: Andrew Huculiak)

When Bette Davis Bid Farewell (El último adiós de Bette Davis)

Documentary reconstructing the actress's visit to the San Sebastian Festival to receive the Donostia Award in 1989.

(Year: 2014; Director: Pedro González Bermúdez)

Zarautzen Erosi Zuen

When Miren is about to pay for her coffee, people often jump their turn. But when she realises someone has stolen a shirt from her shop, she resolves that enough is enough.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2014)