Julio Medem’s Chaotic Ana is an unclassifiable concoction, at once deeply personal and untenably ambitious, alternating between creating a strong statement and indulging in fanciful whimsy. Presented in eleven chapters that count down towards zero in the referential pattern of hypnotic regression, the bohemian artist, Ana (Manuela Vellés), not surprisingly, is first shown in a […]
A melancholic opening ballad tells the tale of a man who had feared that his beloved pet bird would one day fly away that he once thought of clipping its wings, only to come to the realization that such an act would defy the nature of what he cherished most about the creature…that the bird […]
The paths of Otto and Ana literally cross as children: Ana (Sara Valiente), running away from the news of her father’s death; Otto (Peru Medem), running after a soccer ball. They are captivated by each other, but leave without saying a word. One day, Otto learns that his parents are divorcing, and to prove his […]
Tierra opens with a hypnotic journey through space, as the camera soars through the ethereal atmosphere, descending towards an agricultural area, then focusing in on a lone traveler who is having a motivational conversation with himself. A remote village has been infested with woodlice, imparting an earthy taste to the locally produced wine. An exterminator, […]
On an empty stretch of highway, a despondent musician named Jota (Nancho Novo) stares out into the sea, trying to gather enough courage to jump. He is distracted from his suicidal thoughts by the sight of a speeding motorcyclist (Emma Suarez) who has crashed through the railing and landed on the shore. Jota comes to […]
At the trenches of Biscay in 1875 during the Second Carlist War, an army sergeant named Carmelo Mendiluze (Kandido Uranga) learns from a young errand boy named Ilegorri (Ortzi Balda) that a neighbor named Manuel Iriguibel (Carmelo Gómez) from his native village has joined their exhausted battalion. Eager for news of his child’s birth, Carmelo […]