Tag

Spanish film

OFFICIAL COMPETITION [Spain], Thursday 23 February, 8pm

By Homepage, Season 24 films

ALL ONLINE TICKETS ARE NOW SOLD OUT. A LIMITED NUMBER OF TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR. CARD PAYMENT WILL BE ACCEPTED.

Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas star as two egomaniacs commissioned by a millionaire to make a movie together in this sharp comedy skewering wealth, art, and pride.

In this Spanish comedy, a millionaire decides on his eightieth birthday that he needs something more memorable than business success to guarantee his legacy. He decides to produce a film and after securing the rights to a Nobel Prize-winning novel, engages acclaimed but unconventional auteur Lola Cuevas (Penelope Cruz) to direct. She in turn casts two very different actors – global movie star Felix (Antonio Banderas) and distinguished thespian Iván (Oscar Martínez) – as her leads. Before long, methods, personalities and egos clash.

Official Competition is a clever satire that pokes fun at various elements of film culture, but also has some genuine laugh-out-loud moments. All three actors are clearly enjoying themselves, but it is Cruz that is the standout here.

An uproarious comedy that’s also deliciously well-performed… this Spanish-language gem cleverly gets away with being both roast session and sneaky celebration at once. – Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph

[Cruz] has rarely been stronger on screen, as an idiosyncratic martinet who nonetheless finds moments of genius and tenderness between her leading men. A blast. – Kevin Maher, Times [UK]

A sly satire of cinema that also manages to be a showcase for the comedic chops of its stars: Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas and Oscar Martínez. – Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post

It dismantles the lofty ambitions of cinema as great, important and significant, a monument on the cultural landscape. Instead, it shows us art for ego’s sake, and it has a lot of wickedly spiteful fun doing so. – Wendy Ide, Observer

96% Rotten Tomatoes

  • Official Competition (Competencia Oficial)
  • Spain, Argentina 2021 | Language: Spanish | 115 minutes | Cert: 15A
  • Directors: Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat
  • Cast: Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Oscar Martínez
  • Foreign language films are subtitled.  Cert: CLUB for over 18s.
  • Tickets: €8.50/€7 concession
  • Cork Cine Club is absorbing all booking fees.
  • Book online: https://bit.ly/OfficialCompetition-Spain
  • Pay at the door by card or cash. Exact change appreciated.

December 11, 2022
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cancelled: PAIN AND GLORY (SPAIN – DOLOR Y GLORIA), THU 19 MARCH, 8PM

By archive, Season 22 films

CANCELLED

Life meets art in this wistful film about a director whose physical powers are in decline as he recalls the passions that gave him meaning and hope.  Antonio Banderas and Penélope Cruz reunite with Pedro Almodóvar in his most personal movie to date.

The latest, wonderful film from Pedro Almodóvar asks what a director does when he runs into a creative blockage…Banderas excels in Almodóvar’s personal drama…a take on Fellini’s 8½. – Irish Times ★★★★★

The director delivers another sensuous and deeply personal gem as Antonio Banderas’s ageing film-maker faces up to death. – The Guardian.★★★★

97% from Rotten Tomatoes.

Spain, 2019 | Language: Spanish | 113 minutes | Cert: 16

Director: Pedro Almodóvar

Cast: Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Asier Etxeandia

March 3, 2019
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EVERYBODY KNOWS [TODOS LO SABEN – SPAIN], THU 24 OCTOBER, 8PM

By archive, Season 21 films

Oscar-winning filmmaker Asghar Farhadi’s (A Separation) intimately painful and powerfully acted drama centres on a shocking crime that interrupts a family wedding.  Starring Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem.

Laura (Cruz) returns to Spain with her children for her sister’s wedding. There she is reunited with her former lover Paco (Bardem) now happily married and running a successful vineyard on land once owned by Laura’s family. Whilst Laura’s husband, Alejandro (Ricardo Darín) stayed behind in Argentina, an old rumour of her jilting Paco reignites. Moreover, within Laura’s family, resentment simmers over the manner in which Paco acquired the vineyard.

A seething mystery unfurls as secrets, lies and unhealed wounds spanning generations are brought to light. Everybody Knows is an unforgettable portrait of love, loss, and betrayal.

This is Iranian auteur Asghar Farhadi’s eighth feature and his first in Spanish.

Explores the unhealed wound at the heart of a Spanish family with pitiless efficiency and sheer muscular flair…the performances are so intelligent, mature and yet uninhibited…Farhadi’s storytelling has overpowering force. – The Guardian  ★★★★

The characters, observations and performances make this film shine. – The Independent ★★★★★

Spain, 2018 | Language: Spanish | 133 minutes | Cert: 15A

Director: Asghar Farhadi

Cast: Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Ricardo Darín

February 23, 2018
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SUMMER 1993 [ESTIU 1993 – SPAIN], THU 4 OCTOBER, 8PM

By archive

Six-year-old Frida faces the death of her parents and integration into a new nuclear family during a long Catalonian summer.  Beguiling, unsentimental and deeply personal.  

Winner, Best First Feature, Berlin Film Festival 2017.

In the summer 1993, following the death of her parents, six-year-old Frida moves from Barcelona to the Catalan province to live with her aunt and uncle, who are now her new legal guardians. The country life is a challenge for Frida – time passes differently in her new home and the nature that surrounds her is mysterious and estranging. She now has a little sister she has to take care of and must deal with new feelings, such as jealousy. Often, Frida is naively convinced that running away would be the best solution to her problems.

The family does what it can to achieve a fragile new balance and bring normality to their life. Occasional family outings to a local fiesta or a swimming pool, cooking or listening to jazz in the garden bring them moments of happiness. Slowly, Frida realizes that she is there to stay and has to adapt to the new environment.

Stunning drama of a childhood ripped apart…Carla Simón’s brilliantly realised story of a six-year-old traumatised by the death of her parents features miraculous child performances. – The Guardian ★★★★★ 

A film that movingly looks at an orphaned six-year-old’s loneliness and confusion without the usual dip into sentimentality. – Variety

Childhood memoirs always are under threat from self-indulgence and sentimentality, but 1993 successfully sidesteps both, establishing Simon as a talent to watch.  A delicately crafted, moving filmic memoir. True and captivating. – The Hollywood Reporter

Spain, 2017 |Language: Catalan | 97 minutes | Cert: CLUB

Director:   Carla Simón

Cast:  Laia Artigas, Paula Robles, Bruna Cusí

January 9, 2018
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