Selection of some of the best Spanish films from the past year.
The Plague and I'm So Excited
15 years + 1 Day (15 años y un día)
(Year: 2012; Director: Gracia Querejeta)
A teenager is packed off to his grandfather's in a bid to bring him into line, forcing them both to confront their limitations and fears.
Barefoot And In The Kitchen (Con la pata quebrada)
(Country: Spain; Year: 2013; Director: Diego Galán; Writer: Diego Galán; Stars: Carlos Hipólito)
The evolution of how women have been represented in Spanish cinema, from the 1930s to the present day.
A Gun In Each Hand (Una pistola en cada mano)
(Country: Spain; Year: 2012; Director: Cesc Gay; Writer: Tomàs Aragay, Cesc Gay; Stars: Javier Cámara, Ricardo Darín, Eduard Fernández, Jordi Mollà, Eduardo Noriega, Alberto San Juan, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Luis Tosar, Cayetana Guillén Cuervo, Candela Peña, Clara Segura, Leonor Watling, Ernesto Villegas, Mar Ulldemolins, Sílvia Abril)
An ironic and merciless portrayal of the failings, weaknesses and other "virtues" of today's men: lost and confused as they search for a new identity.
I'm So Excited
(Country: Spain; Year: 2013; Director: Pedro Almodóvar; Writer: Pedro Almodóvar; Stars: Javier Cámara, Pepa Charro, Lola Dueñas, Antonio Banderas, Penélope Cruz)
When a plane is imperilled the passengers try to forget their plight but in the process discover the dangers of openness.
Invader (Invasor)
(Country: Spain; Year: 2012; Director: Daniel Calparsoro; Writer: Jorge Arenillas, Javier Gullón, Fernando Marías; Stars: Alberto Ammann, Antonio de la Torre, Inma Cuesta, Karra Elejalde, Luis Zahera, Alex Hafner, Sofía Oria, Benjamin Nathan-Serio, Bernabé Fernández, Isabel Blanco, Abdelatif Hwidar, Fran Peleteiro, Francisco Vera, Julio Pereira, Iriome del Toro)
A thriller by Daniel Calparsoro starring Pablo, an army doctor posted in Iraq. Following an attack that almost costs him his life, Pablo returns to Spain, where he has to decide whether to become a whistleblower.
Barefoot And In The Kitchen and Map
Map (Mapa)
(Country: Spain, India; Year: 2012; Director: León Siminiani; Writer: León Siminiani; Stars: León Siminiani)
Midway between documentary and fiction, this is a road-movie narrated in first person about a young filmmaker who travels to India in search of a new "map" for love, for life.
Othello (Otello)
(Year: 2013; Director: Hammudi Al-Rahmoun Font )
A film on Shakespeare's Othello. A thorough (almost abusive) casting for an intense, risky adaptation and a director determined to get the most from his actors, with no moral, legal or sexual scruples.
People In Places (Gente en sitios)
(Country: Spain; Year: 2013; Director: Juan Cavestany; Writer: Juan Cavestany; Stars: Ernesto Alterio, Carlos Areces, Raúl Arévalo, Luis Bermejo, Jorge Cabrera, Antonio de la Torre, Tusti Heras de las, Irene Escolar, Miguel Esteban, Eduard Fernández, Raquel Guerrero, Javier Gutiérrez, Eva Llorach, David Luque, Coque Malla)
Comedy, drama, social chronicle, horror and surrealism with a common denominator: the uncompromising poetry of of the human condition against the onslaught of the unusual and the chaotic.
The Plague (La Plaga)
(Country: Spain; Year: 2013; Director: Neus Ballús; Stars: Raül Molist, Maria Ros, Rosemarie Abella, Iurie Timbur, Maribel Martí)
Five people struggle to get by in the tough economic conditions around Barcelona.
The Wishful Thinkers (Los ilusos)
(Country: Spain; Year: 2013; Director: Jonás Trueba; Writer: Jonás Trueba; Stars: Francesco Carril, Aura Garrido, Luis Miguel Madrid, Vito Sanz, Isabelle Stoffel, Mikele Urroz, Andrea Vicunia)
A film about the desire to make films, or about what some filmmakers do when they are not making movies.
Invader and Othello
Yesterday Never Ends (Ayer No Termina Nunca)
(Country: Spain; Year: 2013; Director: Isabel Coixet; Stars: Javier Cámara, Candela Peña)
Ten years after their son's death, his parents meet at the site of his grave, which is about to be bulldozed to make way for a mega-casino.
