Skip to main content

San Sebastian Film Festival · 2024

San Sebastian Film Festival 2024

Official Selection

Programme

21 films · 9 reviews

Jump to a film

Afternoons Of Solitude (Tardes de soledad)

The life of the bullfighter Andrés Roca Rey during a day of bullfighting, from the moment he dresses up to the moment he undresses.

(Country: France, Portugal, Spain; Year: 2024; Director: Albert Serra; Writer: Albert Serra; Stars: Pablo Aguado, Andrés Roca Rey)

Bound In Heaven

This film narrates the poignant tale of a terminally ill man and a woman caught in violence, weaving through their fugitive journey after an unforeseen incident.

(Country: China; Year: 2024; Director: Xin Huo; Writer: Yu Pan; Stars: Ni Ni, You Zhou, Fan Liao)

Conclave

Review preview for Conclave

Director Edward Berger and his director of photography Stephane Fontaine have made every frame art.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
Drama surrounding the election of a new Pope.

(Country: UK, US; Year: 2024; Director: Edward Berger; Writer: Robert Harris, Peter Straughan; Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini, Lucian Msamati, Brían F. O'Byrne, Merab Ninidze, Sergio Castellitto, Jacek Koman, Carlos Diehz, Joseph Mydell, Rony Kramer, Loris Loddi, Thomas Loibl, Jeremy Withrow)

Full review

The End

Review preview for The End

It’s ironic that a film about a family who have built a perfect facsimile of a life for themselves should feel so overly constructed itself

Amber Wilkinson · 2 out of 5
After the sudden arrival of a stranger, Girl, threatens Mother and Father's family’s luxurious compound deep underground, Son begins to question their seemingly perfect existence.

(Country: Denmark, Ireland, Germany, Italy, UK, US; Year: 2024; Director: Joshua Oppenheimer; Writer: Rasmus Heisterberg, Joshua Oppenheimer; Stars: Tilda Swinton, Michael Shannon, Moses Ingram, George MacKay, Tim McInnerny, Lennie James, Bronagh Gallagher, Danielle Ryan)

Full review See: Joshua Oppenheimer and George Mackay on dystopian musical The End

Glimmers (Los Destellos)

Isabel’s life turns on its head the day her daughter Madalen asks her to make regular visits to the ailing Ramón, the husband she left 15 years previously.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2024; Director: Pilar Palomero; Writer: Pilar Palomero, Eider Rodriguez; Stars: Antonio de la Torre, Patricia López Arnaiz, Julián López, Marina Guerola)

Hard Truths

Review preview for Hard Truths

It’s funny to begin with, watching Pansy rant with no filter, sharing her negative thoughts on everything from baby clothes with pockets to sofa salespeople, but gradually we realise just how close to the edge she is.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Life's a constant struggle for Pansy. Racked with physical and mental pain, her dealings with the world are channeled through anger and confrontation - only her sister understands and is able to help her.

(Country: UK, Spain; Year: 2024; Director: Mike Leigh; Writer: Mike Leigh; Stars: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Bryony Miller, Michele Austin, Llewella Gideon, David Webber, Tuwaine Barrett, Elliot Edusah, Tiwa Lade, Ani Nelson, Felicita Ramundo)

Full review See: Mike Leigh and Marianne Jean-Baptiste on the art of organic character creation in Hard Truths

In Her Place (El Lugar De La Otra)

Review preview for In Her Place

Much of this is played for whimsical comedy, although there are some barbs where you might not expect them.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Chile, 1955. When the popular writer María Carolina Geel kills her lover, the case captivates court secretary Mercedes, who begins to question her life.

(Country: Chile; Year: 2024; Director: Maite Alberdi; Writer: Maite Alberdi, Inés Bortagaray, Paloma Salas, Alia Trabucco Zerán; Stars: Elisa Zulueta, Francisca Lewin, Pablo Macaya)

Full review

I, Addict (Yo, Adicto)

The story of an audiovisual professional who, at the age of 30 decides of his own free will to enter a rehab centre. Six-episode mini-series.

(Director: Elena Trapé, Javier Giner; Writer: Alba Carballal, Aitor Gabilondo, Jorge Gil Munarriz; Stars: Omar Ayuso, Victoria Luengo, Marina Salas, Nora Navas, Oriol Pla, Ramón Barea, Catalina Sopelana, Bernabé Fernández, Itziar Lazkano, Guillem Balart, Anis Doroftei, Blanca Star Olivera, Alba Ribó, Karl-el Santos, Jorge Clemente)

Out of competition

I Am Nevanka (Soy Nevanka)

Review preview for I Am Nevanka

With elements that are sadly all too recognisable, the familiar story is elevated by the strength of the performances and the decent pace and no-nonsense approach adopted by Bollaín.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
In the year 2000, Nevenka Fernández, the Finance Councillor of Ponferrada Town Council, is relentlessly hounded by the mayor, a man used to getting his way both politically and personally. Nevenka decides to report him, knowing that it will cost her dearly. Based on true events.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2024; Director: Icíar Bollaín; Writer: Icíar Bollaín, Isa Campo, based on the book by Nevenka Fernández, Juan José Millás; Stars: Ricardo Gómez, Mireia Oriol, Carlos Serrano, Urko Olazabal, Miguel Garcés, Lucía Veiga, Pepo Suevos, David Blanka, Font García, Mercedes del Castillo, Luis Moreno, Javier Gálego)

Full review

Last Breath

In a kind of philosophical dialogue, Doctor Augustin Masset and renowned writer Fabrice Toussaint discuss life and death.

(Country: France; Year: 2024; Director: Costa-Gavras; Writer: Costa-Gavras, Régis Debray, Claude Grange; Stars: Charlotte Rampling, Hiam Abbass, Ángela Molina, Karin Viard, Kad Merad, Denis Podalydès, Agathe Bonitzer, Jade Phan-Gia, Marilyne Canto, Maria McClurg, Virginie Sibalo, Namory Bakayoko)

The Last Showgirl

Review preview for The Last Showgirl

Coppola has style, but sometimes employs too much of it.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A seasoned showgirl must plan for her future when her show closes abruptly after a 30-year run.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Gia Coppola; Writer: Kate Gersten; Stars: Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka, Billie Lourd, Jason Schwartzman, Patrick Hilgart, John Clofine, Jesse Phillips, David Avne, Sean Patrick Bryan)

Full review See: Pamela Anderson and Gia Coppola on working together to craft The Last Showgirl

Lumiere! The Adventure Continues (Lumière!, l'aventure continue)

The sequel to Lumière! The Adventure Begins reveals another hundred restored Lumière films.

(Country: France; Year: 2020; Director: Thierry Frémaux)

Out of competition

The Man Who Loved UFOs (El Hombre Que Amaba Los Platos Voladores)

1986. Journalist José de Zer and Chango, his cameraman, set out for La Candelaria (Córdoba) on receiving an unusual proposal from two shady characters. Arriving in the village, there’s nothing much to see, only a scorched field surrounded by hills. What happened next was the work of a genius in the art of exaggeration with a hidden talent: the ability to create the best known audiovisual recording on the existence of alien presence in the history of Argentinian television.

(Year: 2024; Director: Diego Lerman; Writer: Adrián Biniez, Diego Lerman; Stars: Leonardo Sbaraglia, Guillermo Pfening, Daniel Aráoz, Norman Briski, Osmar Núñez, Eva Bianco, Mónica Ayos, Sergio Prina, María Merlino, Agustín Rittano, Renata Lerman)

Modi, Three Days On The Wings Of Madness

A 72-hour whirlwind in the life of Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani.

(Country: UK, Hungary, Italy; Year: 2024; Director: Johnny Depp; Writer: Jerzy Kromolowski, Dennis McIntyre, Mary Olson-Kromolowski; Stars: Al Pacino, Stephen Graham, Bruno Gouery, Sally Phillips, Riccardo Scamarcio, Eva-Jane Willis, Antonia Desplat, Luisa Ranieri, Ryan McParland, Matthew Wolf, Kat Fairaway, Aaron Feder, Anabelle Daisy Grundberg, Jamie Wilson, Floriane Andersen)

Out of competition

On Falling

Review preview for On Falling

Carreira shows how quiet desperation can be eroding

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
Trapped between the confines of her workplace and the solitude of her flat-share, a Portuguese warehouse picker in Scotland seeks to resist the loneliness, alienation and ensuing small talk which begin to threaten her sense of self.

(Country: UK, Portugal; Year: 2024; Director: Laura Carreira; Writer: Laura Carreira; Stars: Joana Santos, Inês Vaz, Neil Leiper, Ola Forman, Deborah Arnott, Katharine K.K. Kennedy, Piotr Sikora, Robert Rutonic, Ross Ian-Martin, Daniel McGuire, Helen Robinson)

Full review See: Laura Carreira on buidling character with her cast and cinematographer in On Falling , Laura Carreira on the gig economy and loneliness in her Silver Shell-winner On Falling

Querer

Mini-series. After 30 years of marriage and two children, Miren leaves the family home and reports her husband for continued rape.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2024; Director: Alauda Ruiz de Azúa; Writer: Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, Eduard Sola; Stars: Miguel Bernardeau, Loreto Mauleón, Pedro Casablanc, Iván Pellicer, Nagore Aranburu, Miguel Garcés, Elena Sáenz, Iñaki Balboa, Adrián Santos)

Out of competition

The Red Virgin (La Virgen Roja)

Hildegart is conceived and raised by her mother Aurora to become the woman of the future, turning her into one of the most brilliant minds of Thirties Spain as well as a reference on female sexuality. At the age of 18, Hildegart meets Abel Vilella, who will help her to explore a new emotional world and extricate herself from the grip of the maternal nest.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2024; Director: Paula Ortiz; Writer: Clara Roquet, Eduard Sola; Stars: Najwa Nimri, Patrick Criado, Aixa Villagrán, Alba Planas, Pep Ambròs, Jorge Usón, Jon Viar, Pepe Viyuela, Claudia Roset, Pablo Vázquez, Fernando Delgado-Hierro, Juan Codina)

Out of competition

Serpent's Path (Hebi No Michi)

In the suburbs of Paris, Albert, a freelance reporter, vows to take revenge for the brutal murder of his young daughter while Sayoko, a Japanese female doctor, assists him in his quest for revenge.

(Country: Japan; Year: 1998; Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa; Writer: Hiroshi Takahashi; Stars: Shô Aikawa, Teruyuki Kagawa, Yûrei Yanagi, Shirô Shimomoto, Kaei Okina, Kaoru Sunada, Takumi Tanji, Kana Satô, Satoshi Morihiro, Ayami Oda, Mizuho Tanaka, Kazutaka Niyama, Yoshitaka Kowashi, Hideo Usui, Takeshi Ôshima)

The Wailing (El Llanto)

Something’s stalking Andrea, but nobody, not even herself, can actually see it. 20 years ago, 10,000 kilometres away, the same presence terrorised Marie. Camila was the only person capable of understanding what was happening to her, but nobody believed them. On taking a stand against that oppressive threat, all three women hear the same horrific sound. Wailing.

(Country: Spain, France, Argentina; Year: 2024; Director: Pedro Martín-Calero; Writer: Pedro Martín-Calero, Isabel Peña; Stars: Ester Expósito, Mathilde Ollivier, Àlex Monner, Tomás del Estal, Sonia Almarcha, José Luis Ferrer, Malena Villa, Claudia Roset, Lautaro Bettoni, Pierre Marquille, Miguel Belaustegui, Lía Lois)

We Live In Time

Review preview for We Live In Time

A perfect example of just how much the stars of a film can elevate mediocre material by the strength of their performances.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
Almut and Tobias are brought together in a surprise encounter that changes their lives.

(Country: UK; Year: 2024; Director: John Crowley; Writer: Nick Payne; Stars: Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield)

Full review

Out of competition

When Autumn Falls (Quand vient l'automne, When Fall Is Coming)

Review preview for When Autumn Falls

The delight of the drama stems from the well crafted characters, while its heft hinges on toxicity that may not be immediately obvious.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Michelle, a model grandmother, is enjoying peaceful retirement in a Burgundy village, close to her best friend Marie-Claude. On All Saints' Day, her daughter Valérie arrives to drop off her grandson Lucas for the school holiday week. But nothing will go to plan.

(Country: France; Year: 2024; Director: François Ozon; Writer: François Ozon; Stars: Josiane Balasko, Hélène Vincent, Ludivine Sagnier, Sophie Guillemin, Vincent Colombe, Pierre Lottin, Marie-Laurence Tartas)

Full review See: François Ozon, Hélène Vincent and Josiane Balasko on creating characters of a certain age in When Fall Is Coming