The eighth edition of the BCN Film Fest comes to an end. That night the jury will announce the winners of this competition that for several days has brought good cinema and a few stars such as Meg Ryan or Vincent Perez to the Catalan capital. And also to Joan Baez, who chatted with the audience from the other side of the Atlantic. These are the ten films of the festival that you cannot miss.
In 2006, the king of Bhutan abdicated to give his people democracy. He also allowed the use of the internet and televisions, something that until then was prohibited in his kingdom. The Government launched a process to explain to Bhutanese how to vote and what the political party system consists of. In the middle of this process, the lama of a small town asks a monk to get him two rifles. The film, which is already one of the contest's favorites, delicately and intriguingly narrates the recent political change in this Buddhist country where peace and generosity reign.
Montse wants to sell the house in Cadaqués. She has planned a weekend with her children and her partners and her grandchildren to say goodbye to the residence that she inherited from her aunt and that she still keeps memories of the summers of her youth when she Theirs was a happy and united family. She is no longer. Her husband left her. Her daughter has a lover and she finds it very difficult to tolerate her husband and her daughters. And her son is with her umpteenth girlfriend, with whom, as with the previous ones, he feels very much in love. Dani de la Orden directs Casa en flames, the film that opened the BCN Film Fest. A film that navigates between drama and comedy and has an attractive cast and an intelligent script.
After a long career as an actor, Vincet Perez has successfully moved into direction. A Matter of Honor is a period drama about a woman, Marie-Rose Astié, ahead of her time. A doctor and fencer, Astié fought so that women could wear pants, she was active in the political life of Paris despite the contempt of men and she is considered one of the first feminists in France.
This long Finnish film has been one of the surprises of the BCN Film Fest. Based on five novels by Anni Bloqvist, it tells the life of Maya, a girl who at the beginning of the 19th century marries by family mandate a young man whom she does not know. The couple settles on a desert island between the coasts of Finland, Sweden and Russia because her husband is dedicated to fishing. Despite its long duration, around three hours, Maya's Fate does not exhaust the viewer who may be fascinated by the color, the interpretations and the exoticism that shine in the film.
Blanche meets Greg and knows right away that she has found the man of her life, because Greg is charming and adores her. They get married and have two children, but he becomes increasingly possessive. She distances her from her family and her friends, she controls her time and her money and little by little Blanche's life becomes hell. Valérie Donzelli successfully adapts a novel by Eric Reinhardt that delves into psychological abuse.
After the invasion of Poland by the Nazis, young Irena Gut is forced to enter the service of a German army commander. Among other activities, she is in charge of supervising a group of Jews who work in the sewing workshop. When rumors spread that Polish Jews are going to be deported, Irena decides to hide them in the mansion her boss has rented. Irene's decision is based on a true story.
Xavi Font went to live in Ibiza at the end of the 80s. He wanted to be a clothing designer, but his exotic models with wide shoulder pads and a lot of color inspired by dragons had no outlet. He was accompanied on his Ibizan adventure by his best friend, Lourdes, and his partner, Manolo. The trio didn't have a penny, but they soon discovered a way to have fun: they settled in a farmhouse in the countryside and set up a kind of commune where they made their designs and organized endless parties. A music producer soon discovered them and launched them into fame. Locomía triumphed in the late 80s and early 90s and then faded due to internal fights.
Three directors have followed Joan Baez with their cameras on her last tour, now 80 years old, in her home and have gone back to her childhood and youth. The legendary singer reveals in this documentary that she is a victim of sexual abuse by her father. She also tells of her relationship with Bob Dylan, her musical successes, and her years of activism. An essential film to get to know the star of the protest song.
The day England declares war on Germany, Sigmund Freud receives the writer C.S. in his London home. Lewis. They both have a theological conversation. Freud's last session is based on a play, but the film does not suffer because thanks to the flashbacks it leaves the four walls of the psychoanalyst's house and travels to his childhood and also to Lewis's stay in the trenches of the First World War. Anthony Hopkins brings Freud to life and shows that he is in top form at 86 years old.
The story told in black and white of Delia, a woman who lives in Rome in 1946 with an abusive husband, promises to be one of the films of the year because Paola Cortellesi tells of the abuse with a delicacy that shows everything, but without teaching anything. , and because Delia takes the blows (she has no other choice), but she is neither as stupid nor as submissive as her violent husband thinks she is. The director and protagonist of We'll Always Have Tomorrow balances drama and comedy equally and makes classic cinema something very modern with female empowerment as a background.
