Conclave
Oscar-winner Edward Berger’s papal thriller is flashy, pulpy, yet empty entertainment.
San Sebastian 2024
San Sebastián 2024: The Verdict
The long-running Basque film festival’s latest edition delivered contentious prizes and dubious celebrity vanity projects, but it also showcased a feast of Spanish screen talent alongside strong comebacks from Pamela Anderson, Mike Leigh and more.
San Sebastián 2024: The Awards
All the big prize winners, surprise career comebacks and controversial jury choices at the long-running Basque film festival.
CineVerdict: El lugar de la otra
‘El lugar de la otra’, el debut en ficción de Maite Alberdi, está hecho con elegancia pero carece de profundidad
Skin in Spring
Small in scale but big in its ambition to show how an ordinary woman reinvents herself by learning to express her desires, the Colombian film ‘Skin in Spring’ is observational fiction at its most delicate and intriguing
Maybe It’s True What They Say about Us
A psychiatrist is put to the test when her daughter, the member of a cult, is arrested for killing her baby in the spooky but unconvincing Chilean-Argentine drama ‘Maybe It’s True What They Say About Us’.
The Last Showgirl
Former ‘Baywatch’ star Pamela Anderson tests her indie art-house credentials in Gia Coppola’s ‘The Last Showgirl’, a slight but engaging portrait of an ageing Las Vegas dancer facing the existential terror of midlife redundancy.
Hard Truths
Mike Leigh returns from a lengthy excursion shooting period films to the kind of chamber piece he excels in, in ‘Hard Truths’, a small story about family dysfunction magnified into high drama by Mariane Jean-Baptiste’s formidable lead performance as a wife and mother going over the edge.
Turn Me On
Director Michael Tyburski’s charmingly offbeat dystopian sci-fi rom-com ‘Turn Me On’ takes place in a cult-like community where sex and love, joy and anger have been chemically erased.
Last Breath
Costa-Gavras, in top form at 91, starts another revolution, this time about death, with ‘Last Breath’.
Cuando las nubes esconden las sombras
Usando los impactantes paisajes del lugar, su compleja historia e intrigante aislamiento, el director José Luis Torres Leiva lentamente desenreda las emociones largamente reprimidas de una citadina angustiada a través de inspiradores encuentros con un grupo de locales en Cuando las nubes cubren las sombras de José Luis Torres Leiva.
Bagger Drama
Piet Baumgartner excavates the unspoken truths of a dysfunctional family with his first fiction feature film ‘Bagger Drama’, screened in San Sebastián’s New Directors section.
In Her Place
Maite Alberdi’s fiction debut ‘In Her Place’ is a well-crafted feature, but lacks depth.
Modi, Three Days on the Wing of Madness
Actor turned director Johnny Depp pays indulgent tribute to bohemian artist Amedeo Modigliani, and to himself, in the badly misjudged and barely coherent biopic ‘Modi, Three Days on the Wing of Madness’.
CineVerdict: Zafari
Cuando la despensa está vacía, una familia de clase media en un país latinoamericano sin nombre, primero pasa hambre y luego se vuelve salvaje en ‘Zafari’. La espeluznante fábula distópica de Mariana Rondón hará que los espectadores no quieran cenar.
La virgen roja
Un ensayo imaginativo y fascinante sobre el feminismo y la maternidad, ‘La virgen roja’ de Paula Ortiz presenta a una inolvidable Najwa Nimri como una madre infernal y dominante que ve a su brillante hija de 16 años como una escultura que ha creado para cambiar el mundo en la España de los años 30.
Querido Trópico
Una historia conmovedora y divertida sobre dos mujeres solitarias que se conectan a través de la división de clases, con la actuación excepcional de Paulina Garcia como una matrona rica y mandona que se desliza hacia la demencia.
My Eternal Summer
Danish director Sylvia Le Fanu makes a powerful debut in feature filmmaking with the loss-centric drama ‘My Eternal Summer’, screened in San Sebastián’s New Directors section.
Soy Nevenka
Veinticuatro años después de la primera denuncia por acoso sexual a un político en España, Iciar Bollaín cuenta la historia en Soy Nevenka con sensibilidad y urgencia. Sir Isaac Newton dijo que su perspectiva era mejor que la de sus antecesores porque estaba parado en hombros de gigantes. Las mujeres del movimiento #metoo, las que...
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I am Nevenka
24 years after the first trial of a politician for harassment in Spain, Iciar Bollain directs ‘I Am Nevenka’ with great sensitivity.
Beloved Tropic
A moving, enjoyable story about two lonely women connecting across the class divide, with an outstanding performance from Paulina Garcia as a wealthy, bossy matron slipping into dementia.
The Red Virgin
An imaginatively engrossing essay on feminism and motherhood, Paula Ortiz’s taken-from-history ‘The Red Virgin’ features an unforgettable Najwa Nimri as a stage mother out of hell, who sees her brilliant 16-year-old daughter as a sculpture she has created to change the world in 1930’s Spain.
When Fall Is Coming
François Ozon tells another story of quirky human relationships in the comedy-drama ‘When Fall Is Coming’, screening in San Sebastián’s Official Selection.
The Serpent’s Path
Festival favorite Kiyoshi Kurosawa remakes his own 1998 revenge thriller ‘The Serpent’s Path’ as a tasteful psychological horror film set in France, whose top-notch, mixed Franco-Japanese cast makes it worth watching.
In the Name of Blood
Georgian-born French director Akaki Popkhadze brings his dual identity to the screen with the formulaic but confident debut feature ‘In the Name of Blood’, premiering in San Sebastián.
Bound in Heaven
Doomed lovers fight for their right to party in the melodramatic but visually impressive romantic thriller ‘Bound in Heaven’, a strong debut feature from Chinese writer-director Huo Xin.
“It is like burning books” — Argentine cinema in danger
One of the most prominent Latin American film industries is under the chainsaw.
CineVerdict: “Es como quemar libros” — Cine argentino en peligro
Uno de los cines mas prominentes de América Latina bajo la motosierra.
Yerai Cortés’ Flamenco Guitar
Vibrant flamenco music redeems a weak narrative in Antón Alvarez’s directorial debut.
CineVerdict: La guitarra flamenca de Yerai Cortés
La exuberante música flamenca y el talento de Yerai Cortés sobrepasan un argumento débil.
Emmanuelle
French director Audrey Diwan’s excruciatingly dull remake of Just Jaeckin’s 1970s soft-porn classic ‘Emmanuelle’ delivers fifty shades of joyless, witless, pointless, mostly sexless tedium.
On Falling
Backed by Ken Loach’s production company, writer-director Laura Carreira’s debut feature ‘On Falling’ is a well crafted but grindingly glum depiction of poverty, alienation and soul-crushing low-wage work.
Memoir of a Snail
Australian stop-motion master Adam Elliot is back with his touching, humane second feature ‘Memoir of a Snail’, featuring the voice of Sarah Snook.