As our loyal readers know, the San Sebastian Film Festival is our favorite event of the year. Of course, due to Covid-19, 2020 would be a film festival unlike any other. First, of course, wearing a mask was mandatory at all times in the theaters. And, although we did not see any problems at the movies we attended, an American-born French director who was there presenting a movie was ejected from his own movie (!), and from the Festival, for refusing to wear a mask. So, they were serious.
Second, seats were assigned, and the number of seats available was limited to 60% of capacity in the normal movie theaters, and about one-third in the cultural center and opera house that are used as theaters during the festival. In those locations, even couples could not sit together as every-other-seat was blocked off.
Third, when you arrived at the theater, your hands were sprayed with sanitizer (literally, that was someone's job), and they showed the same group of health protocols on screen (recited in Basque, Spanish and English) before each movie.
Finally, they asked people to remain in their seats after the movie so everyone could leave in an orderly manner, which meant watching all of the credits for each movie, which is something we never do. We saw more credits at this festival than at any time in our lives.
Given what is going on, and the risks involved, we tried to limit ourselves to no more than two movies a day, and to see as many as possible in the three largest theaters where we felt high ceilings (and presumably good air filter systems) would make being exposed less likely. Tickets were sold three days at a time instead of all at once, and as we did last year, we had some difficulty with the ticket-buying system. Nonetheless, we were able to buy tickets for 11 movies (compared to 20 last year).
Unfortunately, compared to previous festivals, we were not very impressed with most of the movies we saw. Maybe we saw too many English-language films this time, but overall too many of the films we chose were just not that good.
Here are the movies that we saw:
Rifkin's Festival - the latest from Woody Allen; we only chose to see this movie because it is set at the San Sebastian Film Festival and was filmed in San Sebastian (a friend was an extra in the film). Unfortunately, the only good thing about the movie was the scenery of our beautiful city. Seriously, do not see this movie.
El Gran Fellove - for us, this was the surprise of the festival. A documentary of 1950's Cuban musician Francisco Fellove, we mostly chose to see it because it was presented by Matt Dillon. It turned out to be a fascinating look at many things including the Cuban music scene of the 1950's; how so many Afro-Cuban musicians fled Cuba because of racism and ended up together in Mexico City; and how when Dillon discovered Fellove was alive in 1999, they made an album (and this documentary). Unfortunately no one was interested in the album or the documentary before Fellove's death in 2013, but both are being released now. If you can find it, see it.
Nomadland - based on a non-fiction book, the movie is an interesting combination of storytelling and documentary. Frances McDormand plays a woman in her 60's who has been forced by circumstances to live in a van and travel around the western US looking for seasonal work. Along the way, she meets many other real people who live this way. The film is about how they help each other and survive in 21st century America. A bit depressing, but a very good film that shows America at its worst (the fact that people have to live like this during their "golden years") and its best (the community that is formed among the nomads is impressive, as are the beautiful vistas of the American west).
Courtroom 3H - the only movie we left early - fortunately, we were sitting in seats that allowed us to sneak out. This is a documentary that shows scenes from a courtroom in Florida that handles family law issues. We watched for about half of the two-hour run time. It was like sitting in a courtroom and watching the proceedings. Definitely not our thing.
La Isla de Las Mentiras/The Island of Lies - a strange movie based loosely on the wreck of a ship headed to Buenos Aires that took place on an island - Salvora - off the Galician coast of Spain in 1921. The very simple people who eke out a living on the island are not prepared to have their secrets investigated by the Argentine reporter who arrives to report on the shipwreck. Many odd events follow.
Supernova - the first of two movies (Falling is the other) that involved gay men and dementia. Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci play a couple facing Tucci's advancing early onset dementia. A bit slow, especially in the beginning, but overall a decent movie.
Falling - Viggo Mortensen wrote, directed and starred in this movie of a gay man dealing with his father's advancing dementia. The problem with this movie is that the father was a terrible person both in the present, and when Mortensen was growing up (presented in multiple flashbacks throughout the movie). This left us wondering why Mortensen's character would subject himself, his partner and their daughter to this man who seemed to have no redeeming qualities despite a few scenes of empathy/love.
While we do not recommend seeing Falling, if you are a Viggo fan, we do recommend Captain Fantastic, a small (US gross of under $6 million) movie in which he stars as a father raising his six kids in the woods. A very good movie for which he received an Oscar nomination.
Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always - a movie about a teenager from Pennsylvania who secretly sets off with her cousin to New York City to get an abortion, which she cannot get without parental permission in her home state. The movie does a good job showing both how difficult it is to get an abortion in the United States, and the emotional toll this takes on the person seeking the abortion. Unfortunately, we felt the movie was very slow, and despite the protagonists being two teenage girls, there is a surprising lack of dialogue. However, this movie was quite popular among the audiences here in San Sebastian, and has won awards at other film festivals, so it may be worth seeing.
Lobster Soup - this movie was about a small fishing village in Iceland (population 2,500), and the importance of a particular cafe to the village. Fortunately none of you will ever see it because it is in Icelandic with Spanish subtitles (English subtitles were added for the festival). Enough said.
El Agente Topo/The Mole Agent - if you get a chance to see this Chilean movie (Spanish with English subtitles), we recommend it. A private investigator needs an 80-90 year-old man to go undercover in an old-age home. Many funny parts, especially relating to the elderly and technology, but the overall tone is poignant and bittersweet.
The Truffle Hunters - each year, we try to see one or more movies in the Festival's gastronomic section, and last year, we went to a dinner related to one of the movies we saw. This year, although only four such dinners were offered, we managed to get tickets to this one. (Tickets to the dinners sold out in less than 5 minutes!) The movie itself is about a group of old Italian men who go out in the forests with their dogs searching for very expensive truffles, and the interesting economy that surrounds the selling and buying of these truffles. At the dinner, we learned that the movie took three years to make because the truffle hunters are so secretive that at first no one would even tell the filmmakers who they were. An interesting film with some very entertaining characters.
The dinner, as you might have guessed, was all about truffles, but not the super-expensive ones that were the subject of the movie. There were three chefs who presented dishes using truffles from both Spain and Italy. As with all of these types of events, there was way too much food (and wine). Unfortunately, unlike last year when we sat at a table with a fun group of Spaniards, the Covid protocols meant that each group had to sit at their own table. Less fun, but still a very tasty meal.
Our chefs for the evening:
So, that is it for the 2020 San Sebastian Film Festival. We are very hopeful that next year the event will return to normal, and be the fun, joyous time that we love so much.
Hasta luego,
Jeff and Shana
See our previous Film Festival reviews:
