After nine days of cinema in San Sebastián, the 69th edition of the contest ended with an unexpected record and controversial, which has caused all kinds of discussions in that space so full of joy and love that is Twitter. Among the illustrious indignant people who have jumped into the ring with their worst weapons, Carlos Boyero stands out, announcing his goodbye to festivals with a text that seems to have been written during a fury, without further revision. Some movies have won awards, let’s relax a bit …
Although the content of some attacks can be questioned, I think that all these reactions have a good side: they benefit the contest and prove that we continue to live cinema with passion, that despite everything that has happened since last year, we still care. I have already given my opinion on the great winner, ‘Blue Moon’, so in this article I am going to talk about my recommendations, my 14 favorite movies of the 33 that I could see in Donostia.
The best films of the 69th SSIFF
- ‘One second’ (‘Yi miao zhong’). Zhang Yimou he opened the festival with a love letter to the seventh art. We started off high. A very emotional film full of humor and sensitivity. [Sección Oficial]
‘Official competition’. Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohny sign one of the funniest movies of the year. It’s a pleasure to see Penélope Cruz, Óscar Martínez and Antonio Banderas together in this comedy about making a movie. [Perlak]
‘Benediction‘. Terence davies He orchestrates an exquisite biopic about the writer Siegfried Sassoon, focusing on his antiwarism and the love relationships that marked his life. He has one of the best endings I’ve ever seen. [S.O.]
‘Aloners‘(‘ Hon-ja Sa-neun Sa-ram-deul ‘). Hong Sung-eun it immerses us in the mechanical routine of an alienated young woman who takes refuge at work, until her mind begins to be unable to deal with everything that is beyond her control. It has a thriller soul and achieves some very disturbing moments. [Nuevos directores]
‘The wheel of fortune and fantasy’ (‘Guzen to sozo’). Ryûsuke Hamaguchi After conquering us in Cannes with ‘Drive My Car’, he again shows a fresh look at love stories and personal connections, feelings and sex, and that longing to create or revive a special bond with another person. Leave a wonderful nod to another master of these subjects, Hong Sang-soo. [Perlak]
‘Fire on the Plain’ (‘Ping yuan shang de mo xi’). Zhang Ji debuts with a stunningly aesthetic crime thriller and twisted serial killer story. My favorite movie of the 16 competing for the Golden Shell. [S.O.]
‘Mass’. Fran kranz he destroys us with an impressive drama supported by four actors in a room, expressing his deep pain and his longing for healing. Devastating. [Nuevos directores]
‘Who prevents it’. Jonah Trueba presents an ambitious 220-minute generational portrait that follows a group of young people, seeking to capture their reality and identity through an ingenious work that mixes documentary and fiction. Very interesting and perhaps the only essential film of the festival. [S.O.]
‘An unfortunate fuck or crazy porn’ (‘Babardeală cu bucluc sau porno balamuc’). Radu Jude She uses a homemade porn video to laugh at Romanian society in another comedy of the year. A very peculiar movie that has an absolutely hilarious segment dedicated to a dictionary. [Zabaltegi-Tabakalera]
‘It was the hand of God’ (‘È stata la mano di Dio’). Paolo Sorrentino He again proves his knack for creating captivating images in another of his charming and bitter tales, this time based on his own adolescence. [Conversaciones]
‘The good boss’. Fernando Leon de Aranoa presents a very enjoyable black comedy that explodes the concept of the ideal Spanish company. It has another great character from Javier Bardem, giving life to a hilarious psychopath. [S.O.]
‘Are You Lonesome Tonight?’ (‘Re dai wang shi’). Wen shipei directs an overwhelming debut feature where he surprises with his ability to play with narrative, manipulating time, points of view and the perception of reality to create a hypnotic nightmare in the form of a criminal thriller. Fascinating. [Perlak]
‘Petite Maman’. Céline Sciamma film the most beautiful story of the festival and perhaps of the year. The meeting of two absolutely adorable girls faced with a painful loss, with an effective fantastic twist. [Perlak]
‘Spencer’. Pablo Larrain brings us another overwhelming drama disguised as a fairy tale that captivates by the aesthetics and transformation of its protagonist. After ‘Jackie’, here we have Kristen Stewart in the shoes of a Princess Diana on the verge of mental collapse, in a suffocating tale that contains one of the most exciting sequences of the year. [Película sorpresa]