We usually do an annual post solely about the film festival. That’s because we often see a ton of movies and have lots to say. But not this year. First, we both got COVID a week or so before the festival and were still in recovery mode. Second, we had a lot to do as right after the festival we would be meeting Jeff’s parents in Barcelona, coming back with my cousins, and then departing on another “Big Trip.” Third, while we had planned to see lots of movies, the festival’s ticket sales system failed us (and others) again.
The 71st San Sebastian International Film Festival was disappointing. Like always, we spent a lot of time researching and putting together our lists of movies to see. But when it came time to buy our first set of tickets, after selecting the movies, the system wouldn’t allow us to pay, which meant we had to start all over. We lost the seats we reserved, couldn’t get tickets to certain movies at all, and were beyond frustrated because this has happened before – more than once. We had to decide, do we put up with this incompetence or not? We truly considered abandoning the whole enterprise. In the end we chose to see a few movies: I saw four, Jeff saw three. Sadly, we only really enjoyed one of them. Together we saw:
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt about a Black woman’s life in rural Mississippi. Because it was told as a nonlinear stream of consciousness, it lacked cohesion, plot, and movement. It was so slow that we left after about 30 minutes, and we were not alone. Someone else I met found it compelling for its lack of direction, which just goes to show how differently a film can be perceived.
Un Amor, an Isabel Coixet film, set in a small rural Spanish town, about how a newly arrived resident copes (or doesn’t) with the locals and their oddities. There were some amusing moments but overall, it wasn’t her best movie, although Jeff liked it more than I did.
Bajo Terapia/Under Therapy was the winner. Based on a play in which three couples meet for a group therapy session. It was funny, intense, entertaining, and built to an incredible finish. The entire audience was rapt. We stayed for the Q&A with the director, producer, and some of the actors afterward.
I also saw The Practice, a Chilean movie about a male yoga instructor going through a rough time. It was intended to be a comedy, but the director’s sense of humor and mine didn’t coincide.
Perhaps next year will be better; perhaps we’ll skip the whole thing. The jury is out.
Just before the festival ended, we headed to Barcelona by train for 5 days to meet Jeff’s parents, who arrived by cruise ship. It wasn’t our best visit because Barbara came down with COVID shortly after arriving. We did enjoy the city’s beautiful architecture and visited Casa Batlo at night to enjoy a concert on the roof.
After Don and Barbara left, my first cousins Gail, Neil, Arthur, and Anne Marie arrived, also by cruise ship. We showed them around Barcelona for half a day and then all took the train to San Sebastian, where we gave them the grand 3-day tour. The weather was beautiful, and we enjoyed the city sights and the food and wine with them.
After the cousins left, we had 2 days to get everything together to leave again . . . for 4.5 months. In the end, seeing only a few movies during this year’s festival worked out well for us considering all that was going on.
Next up: How we ended up returning to New Zealand for 2.5 months.
Shana & Jeff
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