Each year for the past 58 years, San Sebastian, Basque Country has been the host to the Donostia Zinemaldia, or in English, the San Sebastian Film Festival. While the city of San Sebastian is a precious beach community with a shell-shaped beach that is surrounded by luscious green mountains, this is not why my friend Eduardo and I went. It was his birthday, and he had invited me to see some independent films shown at the festival during the day, and return at night. About a two hour drive from Logroño, we took his car and arrived with time to retrieve our tickets and get into the long line that had formed outside of the "Palacio de Congresos - Centro Kursaal", which is a gigantic cube that looks like space-savers plastic drawers for dorms. The interior was impressive, and we sat in the lower portion of a large amphitheater that housed some 600 people.
The first film that we watched was called "Addicted to Love" by Liu Hao. A slow invasive narrative of a Chinese family; dealt with all of their problems in a smoggy industrial city, and the love-bond between the grandfather and a woman from another family. With repetitively used angles, and long drawn-out shots, the director effectively displays the simplicity of the home life of the family, while realistically it is hectic and painful for all. We viewed this film in the impressive Congress Center building, and it was as if we were watching a play. The film was in Chinese, with both Spanish and English subtitles.
English subtitles were not offered in the second movie we saw - called Genpin, by Naomi Kawase - a celebrated Japanese born director. Hers was an emotionally riveting documentary in an isolated commune dedicated to pregnant women who wanted to have a natural birth. During their time in the commune, they all played roles in the community, chopping wood, doing exercise to stay in shape and prepare them for the birth, and having group therapy sessions. The commune was run by an ex-doctor who still used technology to check the progress of the women's babies, and who believed in a natural approach to life - if a baby dies at birth, it is to give life to another, and keeps balance in the world. The strong emotional content of the film, the real tears shed by the women, and the gritty reality of a birth was altogether very touching. This film was in Japanese, but only had Spanish subtitles.
The last movie was by far the best. It was a documentary about street-graffiti and its progression through the years called "Exit through the gift shop" - as told by none other than the proclaimed English graffiti artist, Banksy. The film began shrouded literally, and metaphorically, in mystery. Banksy appears shadowed in a chair, with his voice augmented, to begin telling the mysterious story of the beginning of street graffiti. The story takes many turns, and with multiple role reversals in play, the end of the movie holds a bit of a surprise. The art is highly impressive, the stories behind the art are as well, and it is all very shockingly exciting throughout the entire film. I would see it again, for sure. This film was in English, with Spanish subtitles.
Between the films, we had some bocadillos (sandhwhiches on french bread) of various sorts, and afterwards another small sanwhich before we hit the road back to Logroño. It was a commando raid trip, and the film were great, I suggest you see at least one of them.
English subtitles were not offered in the second movie we saw - called Genpin, by Naomi Kawase - a celebrated Japanese born director. Hers was an emotionally riveting documentary in an isolated commune dedicated to pregnant women who wanted to have a natural birth. During their time in the commune, they all played roles in the community, chopping wood, doing exercise to stay in shape and prepare them for the birth, and having group therapy sessions. The commune was run by an ex-doctor who still used technology to check the progress of the women's babies, and who believed in a natural approach to life - if a baby dies at birth, it is to give life to another, and keeps balance in the world. The strong emotional content of the film, the real tears shed by the women, and the gritty reality of a birth was altogether very touching. This film was in Japanese, but only had Spanish subtitles.
The last movie was by far the best. It was a documentary about street-graffiti and its progression through the years called "Exit through the gift shop" - as told by none other than the proclaimed English graffiti artist, Banksy. The film began shrouded literally, and metaphorically, in mystery. Banksy appears shadowed in a chair, with his voice augmented, to begin telling the mysterious story of the beginning of street graffiti. The story takes many turns, and with multiple role reversals in play, the end of the movie holds a bit of a surprise. The art is highly impressive, the stories behind the art are as well, and it is all very shockingly exciting throughout the entire film. I would see it again, for sure. This film was in English, with Spanish subtitles.
Between the films, we had some bocadillos (sandhwhiches on french bread) of various sorts, and afterwards another small sanwhich before we hit the road back to Logroño. It was a commando raid trip, and the film were great, I suggest you see at least one of them.
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