The recent Spanish Film Festival had a hefty 32 films as their offering. From this, I am picking 16 of them as my personal best of the lot. These films got my five-star approval rating so catch them when you can when they get a cinema release.
The following are the films ranked in order of preference.
THE SAME BLOOD (Drama/Thriller) – Takes the top spot. Really well-structured, sleek, unpredictable, dark family murder with a violent jaw-dropping ending.
THE GOOD GIRLS (Drama) – My second top favourite is a period piece from Argentina that is quite timely and classic. A well-explored downfall of its high society set.
BREAK (Drama) – Third spot goes to another Argentinian film on friendships, infidelity and examining the approaching midlife crises.
PETRA (Drama) – Stylish, great cinematography and an unpredictable storyline of a woman in search of her father.
VIRGIN AND EXTRA: JAÉN, THE LAND OF THE OLIVE OIL (Documentary) – Everything you wanted to know about Spain’s olive farming industry.
THE DAYS TO COME (Drama) – A riveting drama of a young mother’s actual pregnancy and birth.
TREMORS (Drama) – Explores Guatemala’s bleak, repressive culture against homosexuals and their own religious style of conversion therapy.
CHAMPIONS (Comedy) – Really funny take on disability within a basketball team competition.
BETWEEN TWO WATERS (Drama) – Languid, slow burn piece of the trying relationship between two brothers.
CARMEN AND LOLA (Drama) – A hidden lesbian love affair among Spain’s gypsy community.
THE QUIETUDE (Drama) – Dysfunctional family relationships tear apart a well-to-do Argentinian family.
HOPELESSLY DEVOUT (Comedy) – A dark comedy on Catholic devotion.
70 BIG ONES (Thriller) – Highly riveting bank robbery thriller that will keep you at the edge of your seat.
THE LONGEST NIGHT (Drama/Thriller) – A call girl gets involved with the bad elements.
MY MASTERPIECE (Drama) – This is for art lovers and those who create art.
CRIME WAVE (Comedy/Thriller) – A riotous sex comedy in this mother and son murder cover-up.
Hope you get to see all these diamantes preciosos. Viva las peliculas de España!!!
After the success of Ray Yeung’s last Hong Kong-based mature-age gay-themed film TWILIGHT’S KISS (or SUK SUK), together with previous Western-based gay Chinese love story films CUT SLEEVE BOYS and FRONT COVER, this auteur writer-director has ventured queer territory again with his Berlinale Teddy award-winner ALL SHALL BE WELL.
Check out the following European films by female filmmakers as part of the Sydney Film Festival 2020 On-Demand program.
