Category Archives: Spanish Cinema

Life, fiction, and blah blah blah… “Bonsái” [2011 Chile]

Young directors like Cristián Jiménez are proof that cinema is alive and well in Chile, and Latin America in general. “Bonsái” may only be the second feature directed and scripted by Jiménez, but his ambitiousness is already plain to see. … Continue reading

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Love under an ash-cloud – “Cenizas del Cielo” [2008 Spain]

Using his intimate knowledge of the Asturias region, Spanish director José Antonio Quirós creates crowd-pleasing drama and romance through the film, “Cenizas del Cielo” [Eng. Title: Ashes from the Sun]. Storyline: Travel writer Paul Ferguson’s (Gary Piquer) progress through northern … Continue reading

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The right to live and love even within the jaws of justice – “Leonera” [2008 Argentina]

The 70’s and 80’s may have spawned and subsequently flogged to death an entire sub-genre of exploitative films called Women-in-prison dramas, but just when we thought there’s nothing more left to ‘explore’, comes Argentinian director Pablo Trapero’s Cannes-nominated drama, “Leonera” … Continue reading

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Jealousy and Consequence explained in “Celos” [1999 Spain]

Vicente Aranda has never been known to mince words, at least as far as his films were concerned – he relishes exposing dirt from under the carpet, and his drama “Celos” [Eng. Title: Jealousy] is no different – Spanish jealousy … Continue reading

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Toying with memory and time, Chilean style – “El Lenguaje del Tiempo” [2011 Chile]

Prior to this, I’d seen only one film by Sebastián Araya Serrano – Azul y Blanco, a football-gang themed romance that didn’t particularly win me over. However, his experimental film “El Lenguaje del Tiempo” [Eng. Title: The Language of Time] … Continue reading

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