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San Sebastian Film Festival · 2017

San Sebastian Film Festival 2017

Official Competition

Those films that are out of competition are marked in itallics.

Programme

21 films · 11 reviews

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Alanis

Review preview for Alanis

While the odds are, no doubt, stacked against her, Berneri gives Alanis a real sense of agency.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
An evicted sex worker attempts to get back on her feet with her young son.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2017; Director: Anahí Berneri; Writer: Anahí Berneri; Stars: Sofía Gala)

Full review

Beyond Words

A man's life is thrown into turmoil when a run-down Polish bohemian shows up on his doorstep and claims to be his father.

(Country: Netherlands, Poland; Year: 2017; Director: Urszula Antoniak; Writer: Urszula Antoniak; Stars: Jakub Gierszal, Andrzej Chyra, Justyna Wasilewska, Christian Löber, Philip Wilhelmi)

The Captain (Der Hauptmann)

Review preview for The Captain

There is nothing charming left in this all-is-lost and boys-will-be-boys scenario when violence perpetuates itself and decency is nowhere to be found.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
At the end of the Second World War, a young German soldier steals a captain's uniform. Impersonating an officer he gathers a group of deserters and proceeds to kill is way through a beaten Nazi Germany.

(Country: Germany, Poland, Portugal, France; Year: 2017; Director: Robert Schwentke; Writer: Robert Schwentke; Stars: Max Hubacher, Milan Peschel, Frederick Lau, Bernd Hölscher, Waldemar Kobus, Alexander Fehling, Samuel Finzi, Wolfram Koch, Blerim Destani, Shannon Staller, Britta Hammelstein, Sascha Alexander Gersak, David Scheller, Hendrik Arnst, Jörn Hentschel)

Full review See: Robert Schwentke ‪in conversation on‬ his Hollywood career, JG Ballard, Stanley Kubrick and The Captain (Der Hauptmann) , Robert Schwentke ‪in conversation on‬ German cinema, Emil Jannings, Carl Zuckmayer, Herbert Achternbusch, and the making of The Captain (Der Hauptmann)

C'est La Vie! (Le sens de la fête)

Review preview for C'est La Vie!

So much is going on that Nakache and Toledano are able to slyly set-up jokes in such a way that we barely notice them, so that when they pay off their impact is greater.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
A night of surprises unfolds at a wedding party in a chateau.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano; Writer: Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano; Stars: Jean-Pierre Bacri, Eye Haidara, Gilles Lellouche, Suzanne Clément, Jean-Paul Rouve, Judith Chemla, Kévin Azaïs, Vincent Macaigne, Yves Heck, Hélène Vincent, Jackee Toto, Louis Quinn, Anthony Darche)

Full review See: Eye Haïdara on C'est La Vie, comedy, the #MeToo movement and fighting racial stereotypes

The Disaster Artist

Review preview for The Disaster Artist

Rather than simply turn Tommy into a laughing stock, Franco teases out the tragicomedy of the man.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
The story of the making of the 'Citizen Kane of bad movies', The Room.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: James Franco; Writer: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber, Greg Sestero, Tom Bissell; Stars: Alison Brie, James Franco, Zoey Deutch, Lizzy Caplan, Tommy Wiseau, Bryan Cranston, Zac Efron, Kristen Bell, Dylan Minnette, Dave Franco, Seth Rogen, Sharon Stone, Adam Scott, Josh Hutcherson, Ari Graynor) , Trailer

Full review

Giant (Handia)

Review preview for Giant

The story, built on the shifting relationship between the two brothers, holds considerable interest, even though the plot starts to ramble.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
Two brothers find their relationship tested after one of them becomes a magnet for attention because of his gigantism.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2017; Director: Aitor Arregi, Jon Garano; Writer: Aitor Arregi, Jon Garano, Jose Mari Goenaga; Stars: Eneko Sagardoy, Joseba Usabiaga, Iñigo Aranburu, Ramon Agirre, Aia Kruse)

Full review

The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Le lion est mort ce soir)

Jean, an ageing actor caught by the past, settles himself secretly in an abandoned house where Juliette, the great love of his life, once lived. A group of young friends discover the same house, the perfect set to shoot their next horror movie... and an encounter ensues.

(Country: Japan, France; Year: 2017; Director: Nobuhiro Suwa; Stars: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Pauline Etienne, Jules Langlade, Adrien Cuccureddu, Adrien Bianchi, Louis Bianchi, Romain Mathey, Mathis Nicolle, Coline Pichon-Le Maître, Emmanuelle Pichon-Le Maître, Rafaèle Gelblat, Lou-Ann Mazeau-Guéguen, Arthur Harari, Maud Wyler, Noë Sampy)

Love Me Not

A couple hire a migrant to be a surrogate mother and she moves in with them. But trouble brews when the wife goes missing.

(Country: Greece; Year: 2017; Director: Alexandros Avranas; Writer: Alexandros Avranas, Kostas Peroulis; Stars: Eleni Roussinou, Christos Loulis)

Mademoiselle Paradis (Licht)

A blind pianist in 18th century Vienna faces a quandry as she tries to regain her sight.

(Country: Germany, Austria; Year: 2017; Director: Barbara Albert; Writer: Kathrin Resetarits, Alissa Walser; Stars: Susanne Wuest, Maria-Victoria Dragus, Devid Striesow, Stefanie Reinsperger, Lukas Miko, Theresa Martini, Sascha Merényi, Katja Kolm, Thomas Anton, Julia Pointner, Attila Beke)

Memoir Of War (La Douleur, Memoir Of Pain)

When she finds two old notebooks in a forgotten box, Marguerite Duras remembers her past and the unbearable pain of waiting.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Emmanuel Finkiel; Stars: Mélanie Thierry, Benoît Magimel, Elsa Amiel, Brett Gillen, Grégoire Gros, Christine Riviere-Anissa, Myriam Riviere-Anissa)

The Motive (El autor)

Review preview for The Motive

It's as though Cuenta and his co-writer Alejandro Hernández spent so much of their energy on their impressive plot machinations that they have none left for developing his character, leaving Gutiérrez trying to work magic with just one note.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A man obsessed with writing a book, starts to manipulate his neighbours.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2017; Director: Manuel Martín Cuenca; Writer: Javier Cercas, Alejandro Hernández, Manuel Martín Cuenca; Stars: Antonio de la Torre, Javier Gutiérrez, María León, Tenoch Huerta, Adriana Paz, Adelfa Calvo, Carmelo Muñoz Adame, Miguel Ángel Luque, Domi del Postigo, Rafael Téllez)

Full review

The Plague (La Peste)

During an outbreak of the bubonic plague in the magnificent Seville of 1587, Mateo, a former soldier, returns, honouring his word to find and extract a dead friend’s son from the city. Previously, Mateo had been forced to flee the city to save his life, having been sentenced to death by the Inquisition for printing forbidden books. Before he can complete his task, Mateo is arrested by the Inquisitor’s bailiffs, who promise to pardon his life in exchange for solving a series of crimes of diabolic overtones being committed in Seville.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2017; Director: Alberto Rodríguez; Writer: Rafael Cobos, Alberto Rodríguez; Stars: Javier Botet, Jesús Carroza, Sergio Castellanos, Tomás del Estal, Antonio Gil, Cecilia Gómez, Lupe del Junco, Paco León, Patricia López, Pablo Molinero, Nya de la Rubia, Manolo Solo, Paco Tous, Miko Jarry)

Out of Competition

Pororoca

Review preview for Pororoca

Popescu's film isn't about loud recriminations but the way that lives can disintegrate by degrees.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Cristina and Tudor Ionescu have founded a happy family with their two children, Maria and Ilie. But when one of their children disappears, their life changes forever.

(Country: Romania; Year: 2017; Director: Constantin Popescu; Writer: Constantin Popescu; Stars: Bogdan Dumitrache, Iulia Lumanare, Costin Dogioiu, Stefan Raus, Adela Marghidan)

Full review

Soldiers. Story From Ferentari

A young anthropologist moves to a poor area of Bucharest to study manele music. There he falls for an ex-convict, but what happens when the money runs out?

(Country: Romania, Serbia, Belgium; Year: 2017; Director: Ivana Mladenovic; Stars: Adrian Schiop, Vasile Pavel-Digudai, Stefan Iancu, Nicolae Marin-Spaniolul, Kana Hashimoto, Dan Bursuc)

Sollers Point

Story of a young drug dealer under house arrest at his dad's home.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Matthew Porterfield; Writer: Matthew Porterfield; Stars: McCaul Lombardi, James Belushi, Zazie Beetz, Everleigh Brenner, Imani Hakim, Wass Stevens, Alyssa Bresnahan, Ashley Shelton, Michael Rogers, Greg Crowe, Vincent De Paul, Kazy Tauginas, Hilary Kacser, Pete Papageorge, Kingsley Egei)

A Sort Of Family (Una especie de familia)

An phone call about the imminent birth of a baby takes a doctor on an uncertain physical and emotionally journey.

(Country: Argentina, Brazil, France, Poland, Germany, Denmark; Year: 2017; Director: Diego Lerman; Writer: Diego Lerman, María Meira; Stars: Bárbara Lennie, Daniel Aráoz, Claudio Tolcachir, Yanina Ávila, Paula Cohen)

So Help Me God (Ni juge, ni soumise)

Review preview for So Help Me God

A vivid illustration of just how close life can come to mockumentary when you start to scrutinise it.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
The extraordinary, offbeat judge Anne Gruwez takes us behind the scenes of real life criminal investigations.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2017; Director: Yves Hinant, Jean Libon; Writer: Yves Hinant, Jean Libon; Stars: Anne Gruwez)

Full review

The Secret Of Marrowbone (El secreto de Marrowbone, Marrowbone)

Review preview for The Secret Of Marrowbone

Sergio G Sánchez has lofty ambitions, involving guilt, coming of age and a whisper of the supernatural - but without the emergency brake he is usually offered by whichever director he is working with to rein him in.

Amber Wilkinson · 2 out of 5
A young man and his four younger siblings, who have kept secret the death of their beloved mother in order to remain together, are plagued by a sinister presence.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2017; Director: Sergio G Sánchez; Writer: Sergio G Sánchez; Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Mia Goth, George MacKay, Kyle Soller, Robert Nairne, Matthew Stagg, Nicola Harrison, Laura Brook)

Full review

Out of Competition

Submergence

A hydraulic engineer and a bio-mathematician meet in a hotel on the French coast, where both are preparing their missions. While she works on a project of immersion in the Greenland Sea, he is taken hostage in Somalia.

(Country: US, France; Year: 2017; Director: Wim Wenders; Writer: Erin Dignam, based on the book by JM Ledgard; Stars: James McAvoy, Alicia Vikander, Alexander Siddig, Celyn Jones, Reda Kateb, Mohamed Hakeem, Jannik Schümann, Godehard Giese, Jess Liaudin, Harvey Friedman, Thibaut Evrard, Clémentine Baert, Loïc Corbery, Andrea Guasch, Jean-Pierre Lorit)

Opening film

Underground (Pailalim)

Review preview for Underground

Palacio also understands the resonance of small objects for those who have nothing and uses this to heighten the impact of their situation on us.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A gravedigger is forced to take desperate measures after his daughter becomes gravely ill.

(Country: Philippines; Year: 2017; Director: Daniel Palacio; Writer: Daniel Palacio; Stars: Joem Bascon, Mara Lopez, Grace Ann Betalmos)

Full review

The Wife

Review preview for The Wife

Björn Runge is in no hurry to reveal his characters' faults or their history, letting his camera linger on Close and Pryce, so we can see the thoughts that swim on after the words die away.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A wife questions her life choices as she travels to Stockholm, where her husband is to receive an award.

(Country: Sweden, US; Year: 2017; Director: Björn Runge; Writer: Jane Anderson, Meg Wolitzer; Stars: Glenn Close, Jonathan Pryce, Christian Slater, Annie Starke, Harry Lloyd, Max Irons, Alix Wilton Regan, Karin Franz Körlof, Michael Benz, Carolin Stoltz, Twinnie Lee Moore, Catharina Christie, Jane Garioni) , Official site , Trailer

Full review

Out of Competition. Closing film