Spanish Cinema Now

Carmelo Gómez from My Father's House

The Film Society at Lincoln  Center is pretty awesome. They program really interesting series and festivals. Every year they present "Spanish Cinema Now" which presents the best of current and recently released Spanish Movies as well as a focus on one particular director or actor. This year the focus is on the actor Javier Cámara.  His work is fantastic and those of you who saw the recent Almodóvar movie "Talk To Her" might recognize him. 

It's a tall order to try to see most of the films simply because life in NY requires so much planning and coordination but so far I've been able to see three.  Pudor, a bleak story of family tragedy and assumed betrayal set in Gijón (I still haven't been to Asturias, so the beauty in the film was incentivising.) The other two were Blind Sunflowers (starring Javier Cámara) about life during the Spanish Civil War set in Galicia, and My Father's House, a contemporary story of family struggling with oppositional perspectives regarding Basque autonomy, which also features a lot of Pelota playing! My affection and interest in most things Spanish is likely higher than most peoples, but I've thoroughly enjoyed all three films thus far, even though they're all pretty dark.

But anyway, I'm not movie critic. I just like the fact that these things are so closely available to me. I have been to Spain almost 20 times and I'm still obsessed. I love the family bonds, the rituals, the quirks, and even the challenges.