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Viva · 2012

Viva 2012

Full slate

Programme

15 films · 5 reviews

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Bad Intentions (Las malas intenciones)

A young girl, who feels neglected, retreats into a fantasy world.

(Country: Peru; Year: 2011; Director: Rosario Garcia-Montero; Writer: Rosario Garcia-Montero; Stars: Fatima Buntinx, Katerina D'Onofrio, Melchor Gorrochátegui, Kani Hart, Jean-Paul Strauss, Paul Vega) , Official site

Bonsái: A Story Of Love, Books And Plants (Bonsái)

Review preview for Bonsái: A Story Of Love, Books And Plants

Cristián Jiménez likes quirkiness and his enthusiasm for it, evidenced in his first film Optical Illusions and again here, goes a good way to convincing you to take the ride.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Tragic-comic love story between two youngsters amid books, literary quotes, coming-togethers and fall-outs.

(Year: 2011; Director: Cristián Jiménez; Writer: Cristián Jiménez, Alejandro Zambra; Stars: Gabriela Arancibia, Cristóbal Briceño, Julio Carrasco, Nathalia Galgani, Trinidad González, Ingrid Isensee, Paola Lattus, Hugo Medina, Diego Noguera, Alicia Rodríguez, Andrés Waas)

Full review See: San Sebastian Film Festival: Intruders, Bonsai, No Rest For The Wicked, Miss Bala

Brother (Hermano)

Review preview for Brother

The footballing action is also presented energetically and naturalistically and, because of the strong dynamic between the brothers, we care deeply about their fate.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Two brothers try to escape the crime-ridden slums by trying out for a national football team.

(Country: Venezuela; Year: 2010; Director: Marcel Rasquin; Writer: Rohan Jones, Marcel Rasquin; Stars: Eliú Armas, Beto Benites, Gonzalo Cubero, Marcela Girón, Fernando Moreno, Gabriel Rojas, Alí Rondon) , Official site

Full review

Cousins (Primos)

This film from Daniel Sánchez Arévalo, his 13th, brings us a tale of reunion between three old friends who return to the place where they’d spend their summers as kids.

(Year: 2011; Director: Daniel Sánchez Arévalo; Writer: Daniel Sánchez Arévalo; Stars: Quim Gutiérrez, Inma Cuesta, Raúl Arévalo, Antonio de la Torre, Adrián Lastra, Clara Lago, Núria Gago, Alicia Rubio, Marcos Ruiz) , Official site

Even The Rain (También la lluvia)

Review preview for Even The Rain

The film's heart is certainly in the right place, but its narrative is more of a scattergun affair.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A movie crew shooting a film about Columbus find themselves caught up in modern-day protests.

(Country: Spain, Bolivia, Mexico, France; Year: 2010; Director: Icíar Bollaín; Writer: Paul Laverty; Stars: Luis Tosar, Gael García Bernal, Juan Carlos Aduviri, Karra Elejalde, Raúl Arévalo, Carlos Santos, Cassandra Ciangherotti, Milena Soliz, Leónidas Chiri, Ezequiel Diaz, Pau Cólera, Vicente Romero, Antonio Mora, Daniel Currás, Glenda Rodriguez) , Official site

Full review

El premio

Fearing the oppressive government forces in 1970s Argentina, seven-year-old Ceci and her mother move to a town where no one knows them. There, Ceci finds herself facing family secrets.

(Country: Mexico, France, Germany; Year: 2010; Director: Paula Markovitch; Writer: Paula Markovitch; Stars: Laura Agorreca, Paula Galinelli Hertzog, Sharon Herrera, Viviana Suraniti, Uriel Iasillo) , Official site

The Invisible Eye (La Mirada Invisible)

A teacher spies on the boys' toilets, trying to catch them secretly smoking, and finds herself developing a voyeuristic habit.

(Country: Argentina, Spain, France; Year: 2010; Director: Diego Lerman; Writer: Diego Lerman, María Meira; Stars: Julieta Zylberberg, Osmar Núñez, Marta Lubos, Gaby Ferrero)

Juan Of The Dead (Juan de los Muertos)

Zombie comedy horror, centring on a 40-year-old slacker.

(Country: Cuba; Year: 2011; Director: Alejandro Brugués; Writer: Alejandro Brugués; Stars: Blanca Rosa Blanco, Elsa Camp, Alexis Díaz de Villegas, Antonio Dechent, Andrea Duro, Luis Alberto García, Jorge Molina, Andros Perugorría, Susana Pous, Eliecer Ramírez, Jazz Vilá) , Official site

The Last Circus (Balada Triste De Trompeta)

Review preview for The Last Circus

The Last Circus is worth a watch for the unbridled imagination on display but ultimately it falls apart as much as its main protagonist.

David Graham · 3 out of 5
Two clowns become embroiled in a tug of war for the heart of an acrobat.

(Country: Spain, France; Year: 2010; Director: Álex de la Iglesia; Writer: Álex de la Iglesia; Stars: Carlos Areces, Antonio de la Torre, Carolina Bang)

Full review

Open 24h

A scrapyard night-shift worker faces the gradual onset of despair.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2011; Director: Carles Torras; Writer: Carles Torras; Stars: José María Blanco, Alice Bocchi, Xesc Cabot, Amadís de Murga, Ann Marie How, Rubén Jiménez Sanz, Fina Rius, Judit Uriach, Pedro Veitia, Ana García Vives)

Paper Birds (Pájaros de papel)

The lives of a vaudeville troupe facing hard times after the Spanish Civil War

(Country: Spain; Year: 2010; Director: Emilio Aragón; Writer: Emilio Aragón, Fernando Castets; Stars: Lluís Homar, Fernando Cayo, Diego Martín, Imanol Arias, Roger Príncep, Carmen Machi, Cristina Marcos, Luis Varela, José Ángel Egido, Javier Coll, Emilio Aragón 'Miliki', Lola Baldrich, Asunción Balaguer, Pedro Civera, Francisco Merino) , Official site

Pequeñas voces

Animated documentary based on interviews with children displaced by the violence in rural Colombia.

(Country: Colombia,; Year: 2010; Director: Jairo Eduardo Carrillo, Oscar Andrade; Writer: Eduardo Carrillo) , Official site

Rooftops (Terrados)

The story of a group of unemployed thirty-somethings who spend their days loafing on the rooftops.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2011; Director: Demian Sabini; Writer: Demian Sabini; Stars: Jéssica Alonso, Óscar Aragonés, Anna Bertran, José María Blanco, Carolina Cabrerizo, Jesús Comaposada, Carol Groot, Alain Hernández, Alex Molero, Pablo Molinero, Magda Puig, Carla Pérez, David Resplandí, Jesús Rodríguez, Demian Sabini)

Wrinkles (Arrugas)

Review preview for Wrinkles

A thought-provoking consideration of ageing from the perspective of the elderly that is, perhaps ironically, hard to forget.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
An Alzheimer's sufferer finds a new place in the world after entering an old folk's home.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2011; Director: Ignacio Ferreras; Writer: Ángel de la Cruz, Ignacio Ferreras; Stars: Tacho González, Álvaro Guevara, Mabel Rivera)

Full review

Zero Hour (La hora cero)

Thriller sees the patients and staff of a hospital held hostage.

(Country: Venezuela; Year: 2010; Director: Diego Velasco; Writer: Diego Velasco, Carolina Paiz; Stars: Zapata 666, Amanda Key, Erich Wildpret, Laureano Olivares, Marisa Román, Albi De Abreu, Alejandro Furth, Steve Wilcox, Rolando Padilla, Ana María Simón, Beatriz Vásquez, Rafael Carrillo, Antonio Cuevas, Anthony Rivero El Gringo, Haydee Faverola) , Official site