The Film Experience

by Nathaniel R

We remain nervous about the American awards prospects of Almodovar’s wonderfully moving 'i’m not dead yet but I kinda feel like it some times' autobiography, but at least in Spain, Pain & Glory is having a love-fest. This year the latest Almodóvar movie received 16 nominations, that's two more than even Volver got in its year. The Goya nominators did not spread the wealth. We're not sure if it was a weak year for Spanish cinema or if they just didn't look around much but the other two biggies, While at War and The Endless Trench, received 17 and 15 nominations respectively.

BEST FILM

“Pain and Glory” (Pedro Almodóvar)
“Out in the Open” (Benito Zambrano)
“The Endless Trench” (Aitor Arregui, Jon Garaño and Jose Mari Goenaga)
“Fire Will Come” (Oliver Laxe)
“While at War” (Alejandro Amenábar)

You may recall that While at War was a finalist for Spain's Oscar submission this year...

It leads the Goya nomination but it lost the submission sweepstakes to Pain and Glory. The other three titles opened after the cut-off date for Oscar eligibility this year for international titles (Sept 30th) so we could theoretically see one of those three submitted for Spain's Oscar submission next year.

DIRECTOR

Pedro Almodóvar ("Pain and Glory")
Aitor Arregui, Jon Garaño and Jose Mari Goenaga (“The Endless Trench”)
Oliver Laxe (“Fire Will Come”)
Alejandro Amenábar (“While at War”)

This is Almodóvar's 10th (TENTH!) nomination for Best Director at the Goyas. He's won twice (All About My Mother and Volver). Amenábar has been up for 5 Best Director Goyas and has also won twice (The Others and The Sea Inside)

NEW DIRECTOR

Salvador Simó (“Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles”)
Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia (“The Platform”)
Belén Funes (“A Thief’s Daughter”)
Aritz Moreno (“Advantages of Traveling by Train”)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Pedro Almodóvar (“Pain and Glory”)
David Desola and Pedro Rivero (“The Platform”)
Jose Mari Goenaga and Luiso Berdejo (“The Endless Trench”)
Alejandro Amenábar and Alejandro Hernández (“While at War”)

The Platform played TIFF in October and it’s quite a wild metaphor movie about today’s ever increasing gulf between the haves and have nots. In the film people are paired on floors of a vertical building and a full feast is available on the platform up top which moves down the floors on a timer. The people at the bottom never get to eat and things get violent and ugly. It's entirely grotesque and yet it's totally riveting too. In short, good choice, Goyas.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Eligio Montero and Salvador Simó (“Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles”)
Benito Zambrano, Daniel Remón and Pablo Remón (“Out in the Open”)
Isabel Peña and Rodrigo Sorogoyen (“Mother”)
Javier Gullón (“Advantages of Traveling by Train”)

You may recall that Rodrigo Sorogoynen was up for an Oscar for Short Film last season for "Mother". This is his feature length expansion of that short.

ACTRESS

The Endless Trench

Penélope Cruz (“Pain and Glory”)
Greta Fernández (“A Thief’s Daughter”)
Belén Cuesta (“The Endless Trench”)
Marta Nieto (“Mother”)

Strange to see Penélope Cruz considered a lead when she's in so little of Pain & Glory. Were they short on female leads in Spain this year or is it merely her starpower? (yes, she's lovely in the film... but not a lead)

ACTOR

Antonio Banderas (“Pain and Glory”)
Antonio de la Torre (“The Endless Trench”)
Karra Elejalde (“While at War”)
Luis Tosar (“Eye for an Eye”)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Mona Martínez (“Adiós”)
Natalia de Molina (“Adiós”)
Julieta Serrano (“Pain and Glory”)
Nathalie Poza (“While at War”)

Thrilled to see Serrano here who does her best work ever in a Pedro movie (which is saying a lot) as Salvador Mallo's hospitalized mother.

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Asier Etxeandia ("Pain and Glory")
Luis Callejo (“Out in the Open”)
Eduard Fernández (“While at War”)
Leonardo Sbaraglia (“Pain and Glory”)

Double-dipping from Pain and Glory as the director's rogue former leading man and his former lover. We're here for it.

NEW ACTRESS

Pilar Gómez (“Adiós”)
Carmen Arrufat (“The Innocence”)
Benedicta Sánchez (“Fire Will Come”)
Ainhoa Santamaría (“While at War”)

NEW ACTOR

Seventeen

Nacho Sánchez (“Seventeen”)
Vicente Vergara (“The Endless Trench”)
Santi Prego (“While at War”)
Enric Auquer (“Eye for an Eye”)

Awww, no room for Cesar Vicente who was such an eyeful in Pain and Glory for his film debut? You can watch Seventeen on Netflix.

ANIMATED FEATURE

“Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles” (Salvador Simó)
“Elcano & Magallanes: First Trip Around the World” (Ángel Alonso)
“Klaus” (Sergio Pablos)

Buñuel and Klaus are both eligible at the Oscars this year. Will either of them be nominated?

DOCUMENTARY

“Ara Malikian: una vida entre las cuerdas” (Nata Moreno)
“Aute retrato” (Gaizka Urresti)
“El cuadro e Historias de nuestro cine” (Ana Pérez-Lorente, Antonio Resines)

EUROPEAN FILM

“Border” (Ali Abbasi, Sweden, Denmark)
“Les Misérables,” (Ladj Ly, France)
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire” (Céline Sciamma, France)
“Yesterday” (Danny Boyle, U.K.)

IBEROAMERICAN FILM

Monos

“Araña” (Andrés Wood, Chile)
“The Awakening of the Ants” (Antonella Sudasassi, Costa Rica)
“Heroic Losers” (Sebastián Borensztein, Argentina)
“Monos” (Alejandro Landes, Colombia)

All four of the South American nominees are their countries submissions to this year's Oscars in Best International Film

CINEMATOGRAPHY

José Luis Alcaine (“Pain and Glory”)
Javi Agirre Erauso (“The Endless Trench”)
Mauro Herce (“Fire Will Come”)
Álex Catalán (“While at War”)

PRODUCTION DESIGN

Toni Novella (“Pain and Glory”)
Manolo Limón (“Out in the Open”)
Ander Sistiaga (“The Endless Trench”)
Carla Pérez de Albéniz (“While at War”)

ORIGINAL MUSIC

Arturo Cardelús (“Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles”)
Alberto Iglesias (“Pain and Glory”)
Pascal Gaigne (“The Endless Trench”)
Alejandro Amenábar (“While at War”)

ORIGINAL SONG

Intemperie by Javier Ruibal (“Out in the Open”)
Invisible by Caroline Pennell,Jussi Ilmari Karvinen (Jussifer),Justin Tranter (“Klaus”)
Allí en la arena by Toni M. Mir (“The Innocence”)
Nana de las dos lunas by Sergio de la Puente (“La noche de las dos lunas”)

EDITING

Teresa Font (“Pain and Glory”)
Laurent Dufreche, Raúl López (“The Endless Trench”)
Carolina Martínez Urbina (“While at War”)
Alberto del Campo (“Mother”)

SOUND

Sergio Bürmann, Pelayo Gutiérrez, Marc Orts (“Pain and Glory”)
Iñaki Díez, Alazne Ameztoy, Xanti Salvador, Nacho Royo-Villanova )“The Endless Trench”)
Aitor Berenguer, Gabriel Gutiérrez (“While at War”)
David Machado, Gabriel Gutiérrez, Yasmina Praderas (“Eye for an Eye”)

ART DIRECTION

Antxón Gómez (“Pain and Glory”)
Pepe Domínguez (“The Endless Trench”)
Juan Pedro de Gaspar (“While at War”)
Mikel Serrano (“Advantages of Traveling by Train”)

COSTUME DESIGN

Paola Torres (“Pain and Glory”)
Lourdes Fuentes, Saioa Lara (“The Endless Trench”)
Sonia Grande (“While at War”)
Alberto Valcárcel (“Paradise Hills”)

HAIR AND MAKEUP

Ana Lozano, Sergio Pérez Berbel, Montse Ribé (“Pain and Glory”)
Yolanda Piña, Félix Terrero, Nacho Díaz (“The Endless Trench”)
Ana López-Puigcerver, Belén López-Puigcerver, Nacho Díaz (“While at War”)
Karmele Soler, Olga Cruz (“Advantages of Traveling by Train”)

SPECIAL EFFECTS

Mario Campoy, Iñaki Madariaga (“The Platform”)
Jon Serrano, David Heras (“The Endless Trench”)
Raúl Romanillos, Juanma Nogales (“While at War”)
Juan Ramón Molina, Félix Bergés (“Perdiendo el Este”)

FICTION SHORT

“El nadador” (Pablo Barce)
“Foreigner” (Carlos Violadé Guerrero)
“Maras” (Salvador Calvo)
Suc de Síndria (Irene Moray)
Xiao Xian (Jiajie Yu)

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

“2001 Sparks in the Dark” (Pedro González Bermúdez)
“El infierno” (Raúl de la Fuente)
“The European Dream: Serbia” (Jaime Alekos)
“Our Life as Refugee Children in Europe” (Silvia Venegas)

ANIMATED SHORT

“El árbol de las almas perdidas,” (Laura Zamora Cabeza)
“Homomaquia” (David Fidalgo Omil)
“Madrid 2120” (José Luís Quirós, Paco Sáez)
“Muedra” (César Díaz Meléndez)