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San Sebastian Film Festival · 2021

San Sebastian Film Festival 2021

Horizontes Latinos

Programme

10 films · 4 reviews

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Amparo

Colombia 1998, Amparo, a single mother, struggles to free her teenage son after he is drafted by the army and assigned to a war zone.

(Country: Colombia, Sweden, Qatar, Germany; Year: 2021; Director: Simón Mesa Soto; Writer: Simón Mesa Soto; Stars: John Montoya, Luciana Gallego, Diego Alejandro Tobûn, Sandra Melissa Torres, John Montoya, Luciana Gallego, Diego Alejandro Tobûn, Sandra Melissa Torres)

Aurora

Surrogacy and minimalist stories combine through the life of Luisa, a young architect, sometimes dancer, sometimes teacher.

(Country: Costa Riga; Year: 2021; Director: Paz Fábrega; Writer: Paz Fábrega; Stars: Rebeca Woodbridge, Raquel Villalobos, Erika Rojas, Daniela Arroio, Liliana Biamonte)

Azor

Review preview for Azor

Many doors are not very open, they give us merely a little glimpse into a strange world.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
Thriller set in the world of high finance.

(Country: Argentina, Switzerland, France; Year: 2021; Director: Andreas Fontana; Writer: Andreas Fontana, Mariano Llinas; Stars: Fabrizio Rongione, Stéphanie Cléau, Juan Pablo Geretto, Elli Medeiros, Yvain Juillard, Gilles Privat, Carmen Iriondo, Pablo Torre Nilson, Juan Trench, Alexandre Trocki)

Full review See: Andreas Fontana in conversation on Azor, Howard Hawks, and Jorge Luis Borges

The Box (La Caja)

Hatzin, a young teenager from Mexico City, travels to collect the remains of his father, which have been found in a communal grave. But a casual encounter with a man who shares a physical resemblance with his father fills him with doubts and hope about his parent’s true whereabouts.

(Country: US, Mexico; Year: 2021; Director: Lorenzo Vigas; Writer: Paula Markovitch, Lorenzo Vigas; Stars: Hernán Mendoza, Cristina Zulueta, Hatzín Navarrete, Hernán Mendoza, Cristina Zulueta, Hatzín Navarrete)

A Cop Movie (Una Película de Policías)

Review preview for A Cop Movie

For all its intricacy and cleverness, this is a film that never loses its central focus.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
A docufiction dive into the Mexican police force.

(Country: Mexico; Year: 2021; Director: Alonso Ruizpalacios; Writer: Alonso Ruizpalacios; Stars: Raúl Briones, Mónica Del Carmen, María Teresa Hernández Cañas, José de Jesús Rodríguez Hernández)

Full review

Dusk Stone (Piedra Noche)

Review preview for Dusk Stone

A film that is big on mood in general even if its structure and overall storytelling are weak by comparison.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
Less than a year ago, Greta's son mysteriously disappeared by the sea. As she and her husband Bruno are struggling with grief, Bruno claims to have seen something that confirms the locals' rumours: the appearance of a strange shape coming from the sea.

(Country: Argentina, Chile, Spain; Year: 2021; Director: Iván Fund; Writer: Martín Felipe Castagnet, Iván Fund, Santiago Loza; Stars: Mara Bestelli, Alfredo Castro, Marcelo Subiotto, Maricel Álvarez)

Full review

The Employer And The Employee (El Empleado Y El Patron)

The employer is a young man who apparently has everything going on for him, except one pressing concern: his baby’s health. The employee is looking for a job to support his newborn too. He does not hesitate when the first decides to hire him to work in his lands. Both will meet their needs by helping each other. But one day an accident happens. This unexpected event will strain the ties between them, endangering the fate of the two families.

(Country: Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, France; Year: 2021; Director: Manolo Nieto; Stars: Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Cristian Borges)

Jesús López

After a teenage racing driver dies in an accident, his cousin steps into his shoes.

(Country: Argentina, France; Year: 2021; Director: Maximiliano Schonfeld; Stars: Lucas Schell, Joaquín Spahn, Sofía Palomino, Ia Arteta, Alfredo Zenobi, Paula Ransenberg, Romina Pinto, Benigno Lell)

Madalena

Three characters’ lives are affected in different ways by the death of Madalena, a trans woman.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2021; Director: Madiano Marcheti; Writer: Tiago Coelho, Thiago Gallego, Madiano Marcheti, Thiago Ortman, Helena Vieira; Stars: Joana Castro, Mariane Cáceres, Rafael de Bona, Lua Guerreiro, Natália Mazarim, Chloe Milan, Lucas Miralles, Nadja Mitidiero, Antonio Salvador, Pâmella Yulle)

Prayers For The Stolen (Noche De Fuego)

Review preview for Prayers For The Stolen

By delving into fiction, Huezo is able to focus on the impact of this crisis on individual human lives.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Life in a town at war seen through the eyes of three young girls on the path to adolescence.

(Country: Mexico; Year: 2021; Director: Tatiana Huezo; Writer: Tatiana Huezo; Stars: Mayra Batalla, Norma Pablo, Olivia Lagunas)

Full review