Carmen Herrero, Principal Lecturer in Spanish Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University, writes about the Spanish economic crisis and its influence on films in our first ¡Viva! Weekender.
The on-going economic crisis has brought about significant changes in politics, culture, society and the arts in Spain. The financial crisis has been the object of noteworthy attempts to give narrative and visual form to its underlying causes and effects. Its depiction in cinema won’t be new to those who came to last year’s ¡Viva! Festival, and this year’s ¡Viva! Weekender continues to feature some relevant examples.
Alfonso Zarauza’s second feature film, Os Fenómenos (2014), constitutes a good example of realismo social. Social realism represents one of the most culturally significant genres in Spanish cinema since the 1990s, articulating a belligerent social and political criticism. Fernando León de Aranoa’s Los lunes al sol (2002) and Princesas (2005) are some of the canonical examples within this trend, close in style to the films of Ken Loach. In Os Fenómenos, Lola Dueñas plays working class protagonist Nenete, who returns to her birthplace in Galicia with her baby after being abandoned by her partner. The only job available is at a building site. Her marginal position on site provides an insight into some of the current social and political scourges, such as discrimination and corruption, against a backdrop of the growing crisis in Spain’s construction industry.
Humour is also a powerful tool for understanding, criticizing and recreating the devastating effects of the crisis. El mundo es nuestro (2012), which featured in last year’s festival, is the first feature by Alfonso Sánchez, who also co-produced and starred in it. The script was written in 2009 inspired mostly by the 2001 Argentine corralito, when the government froze bank accounts and imposed capital controls to stop citizens taking their money out of the country. Nevertheless, the obvious historical parallels echo Spain’s current financial crisis. With a background of strong and peculiar Sevillian traditions, the film examines the impact of the economic crisis and political corruption. It also takes on-board the methods of social movements, particularly the Indignados during the 15-M demonstrations in 2011.
Versatile writer, musician, and filmmaker, Santi Amodeo (El factor Pilgrim (2001), Astronautas (2003) and Cabeza de perro (2008)) returns to ¡Viva! to present his most recent feature film ¿Quién mató a Bambi? (2013). Resorting to farcical humour, this comedy of errors uses the context of the tough financial times and job crisis. Set in Seville, the film recreates the frenetic actions of four characters (played by Quim Gutiérrez, Julián Villagrán, Ernesto Alterio and Enrico Vecchi), their misfortunes and absurd decisions during a disastrous kidnapping. For Amodeo, “the result is a cocktail halfway between A Fish Called Wanda and The Hangover (with three spoonful of The Big Lebowski). Shaken and served chilled.”
In Os Fenómenos and ¿Quién mató a Bambi?, the ¡Viva! Weekender offers significant examples of how filmmakers and producers are underlining the lack of trust in political and economic institutions. The crisis is leading to discussions and debates, a search for solutions, new forms of action and the need to find cultural alternatives. What we have seen as a result is an alternative way of making and thinking about film.
The first of our ¡Viva! Weekenders takes place from Thursday 5 – Monday 9 March with five new films, three director Q&As and more events. Click here to browse the full programme.