Spanish Film Festival: Three Days With The Family

Published on the Spanish Film Festival Blog

Nothing brings a family together like a funeral. In Three Days With The Family, Léa (Nausicaa Bonnin) returns to Spain for her grandfather’s funeral, a man we soon learn wasn’t liked by everyone. Léa has been living in France, has failed in her engineering course and plans to ditch her studies to open a bar with boyfriend Seb; that was the plan until he won’t take her calls. Léa’s parents have been separated for two years but maintain a happy façade. Her mother Joëlle (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) seems to come and go as she pleases, though Léa is far from pleased with her. Her father Josep Maria (Eduard Fernández) is a pushover when it comes to his family and is emotionally stunted when dealing with his separation and in reacting to his daughter’s moods. One thing is for certain, the charades will end after spending three days with the family, and the truth will come out.

In director Mar Coll’s acclaimed, although disappointingly short, film, screening as part of the All by Women category at the festival, we are given a snapshot of one dysfunctional family who realise that no matter what past issues or arguments have been fought, being family means you’re in it together until the end. The film’s run time of 85 minutes limits the depth of detail we’re given about the characters and possibly limits the emotional connection one may have, but I still found the film delivered a satisfying story boosted by some solid acting. In particular the character of Léa, who at first irritated me to no end, had me battling a lump in my throat in the closing scenes. This highlights the minimalist yet powerful filmmaking of Mar Coll and it’s fitting to see her win Best New Director at the 2010 GOYA Awards.

The strength of the film was clearly the relationship between Léa and her cousins; each performance standing on its own as entirely natural, playful and meaningful. These scenes were refreshing compared to the at times heavy handed scenes between Léa and her parents, and between Josep Maria and his siblings; in particular his sister Virginia (Amalia Sancho) who is to have written a controversial novel about their father which has upset her brothers, the problem for the audience is that her story is not given enough time for us to know enough or possibly even care. Despite the very few shortcomings Three Days With The Family is an honest exploration into family expectations and relationships which rewards its audience repeatedly.

Spanish Film Festival: Nora's Will

Published on the Spanish Film Festival Blog

Nora’s Will tells the bittersweet story of Nora (Silvia Mariscal), a woman in her sixties who throughout her life has continually attempted to commit suicide. When Nora succeeds it is her ex husband Jose (Fernando Luján) who makes the discovery. What follows is a slow moving drama with occasional but solid moments of comedy about the days after Nora’s death, her family’s reactions and the ordeal they face in burying her.

Whilst the film is driven by Nora’s death, we initially don’t know that much about her. With her death occurring within the first few minutes we do not even see her face until Jose finds her body. It is through Nora’s meticulous planning, some would call it scheming, that we learn more about her. She has planned her death to coincide with Passover, both bringing her family together and creating difficulties concerning the funeral; if Nora is not buried on the same day she died they will have to wait until after Passover, a whole five days, to perform the ceremony. This proves the catalyst for the majority of the film’s tension and comedy, as Jose struggles with the rigidness of the religion and the uncompromising Rabbi, exhibited brilliantly when he orders a pork laden pizza and attempts to thrust it in the face of every Orthodox person who enters his ex wife’s apartment.

The spanner is really thrown into the works when Jose finds a lone photograph under Nora’s bed, the single hitch in her elaborate plan. In the photo a younger Nora appears with a man who is not Jose. Enter the mystery, who is this man and did Nora cheat on her husband of thirty years?

Most of the film takes place in Nora’s apartment, the host of eccentric characters providing the colour in an otherwise drab setting. The film uses flashbacks to highlight Nora and Jose’s relationship and they are generally used well if at times slightly distracting. Overall this is a subtle family drama with some heartfelt moments but the dashes of dry humour elevate the film to a touching and honest portrayal of a family’s reaction to a sudden death.

Nora’s Will is the feature film debut of writer/director Marianna Chenillo and is showing under the ‘All by Women’ category at the festival.

No, not the movie... the city

Yes I have seen the movie, no I did not love it - or even really like it, but it sure makes a nice visual for this blog post. You see I am back Down Under after a well earnt holiday in the good ol' U S of A. Two weeks in New York was sublime, 4 days in LA felt something akin to Chinese water torture (I'm guessing it might be a Sydney-Melbourne situation between New York and LA, although I am sure there are people who love both places equally) and finally finishing up with 4 delightful days in sunny San Francisco. Whilst I nervously went to bed each night praying there wouldn't be an earthquake the trip certainly reignited the idea of living abroad... and perhaps I will entertain this idea once (if) I pay off this trip.

So now I am home and it's right back into things, no time to get over the jet lag. This last week I had the opportunity to review two films for the Spanish Film Festival which I'll repost here en un minuto. The Melbourne International Film Festival is appearing on the horizon and ACMI is playing host to the Tim Burton exhibition fresh from the MoMa in New York (where we attempted to see it, alas the crowds were too big!). Basically it's a great time to be a film lover in Melbourne.

I also shipped back (at great expense and stress thanks to FedEx) a nice collection (52 in all) of classic films on DVD I picked up on my American adventure, so bring on the chilly winter weather! I also learnt the harsh lesson of region locked Criterion collection Blu Rays *sigh* when I excitedly put in a copy of Bigger Than Life and was greeted with a nasty message. We shall put this behind us but each time I see a new Criterion release of a beloved movie on Blu Ray perhaps I'll weep a little on the inside for not being able to see it...