Spanish celluloid magic

Like the story of Peter Pan told in reverse, that’s how director Juan Antonio Bayona unfurls the story of El Orfanato (The Orphanage). (Mexican director Guillermo del Toro is one of the producers of the film; you could stamp his name on any flick and, even if it starred Sandra Bollocks or Steven Seagull, I’d still watch it and buy the DVD, hoping to catch a pale man with eyes on the palm of his hands, an angel of death with peacock wings, or deft weaving of fairy tales and war stories with fabulous beasts.) El Orfanato has none of the quirky creatures as those in Pan’s Labyrinth, but the movie that tells of Laura who returns to the orphanage where she stayed as a child and her adopted son Simón who is suffering from HIV and sees imaginary friends is not any less enticing. It is more reminiscent of The Devil’s Backbone. And just like any Del Toro classic, innocence is assaulted by ineffable forces.

One of the specters is Tomás, who eerily wears a sack mask. El Orfanato (The Orphanage) has the sheen of the fantastic to it. It is a parable about “believing in order to see.”

Such is the allure of films from Spain, Mexico and other Latin American countries. The subtle storytelling sucks you in. You get engrossed with quirky characterization, plus the languid unfolding of the key moment. Nothing hurried. No need for Jerry Bruckheimer explosions or Hollywooden actors. (Sometimes it’s difficult to watch a George Clooney movie and believe for a second that it is not George Clooney trying to play a character that is not George Clooney. The same also with Jack Black, who is doomed to play one role and one role only.) Good to curl up with a Spanish movie one lazy afternoon and watch actors you haven’t seen before in your life caught in a celluloid maelstrom about life in all its bitter-sweetness. That’s how I first saw Javier Bardem. In one of those movies with stories that are subtly told but which stays with you forever. I never thought he’d end up playing a Hannibal Lecter-ish killer in a modern-day Western for the Coens. With Tommy Lee Jones. 

That’s the lure of Spanish cinema.

And we Filipinos get huge doses of it in Asia’s biggest Spanish-language film festival, dubbed “Pelicula.” 

Instituto Cervantes will show 18 of the best and newest drama, comedy, action and suspense movies at Greenbelt 3 from Oct. 1 to 12 as part of the Spanish Month celebration. 

Multi-awarded films such as Siete Mesas de billar Francés (Seven Billiard Tables), Bajo las Estrellas (Under the Stars), El Pollo, El pez y el Cangrejo Real (The Chicken, The Fish, and The King Crab), and Mataharis make their Philippine premiere at the film festival, which starts on Oct. 1 at the Greenbelt 3 Cinemas.

Other films include Miguel & William, an imagining of what happens when William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes meet, and La Torre de Suso (Suso’s Tower), a comedy about “a group of friends who get together to bury one of their own.”

Now in its seventh year, Película Pelikula still continues to impress with its lineup of films in different genres, some of which include: La Caja (The Wooden Box), Yo Soy la Juani (My Name is Juani), Concursante, (The Contestant), Lo Mejor de Mí (The Best of Me), Fados, Los Crimenes de Oxford (The Oxford Murders), and the aforementioned El Orfanato (The Orphanage). Powerful, gripping stuff. El Orfanato will be shown on Oct. 5, 9 and 11.

Película kicks off tomorrow with the movie Fuera de Carta (Chef’s Special). Recipient of the Best Film audience award at the Málaga Spanish Film Festival, the film is a comedy about “a man whose life suddenly becomes complicated when an Argentinean ex-football player moves in next door.” Featured guest at the event will be Spanish director Nacho Velilla.

On Oct. 7, Película pays tribute to Mexican filmmakers with the Mexican Cinema Night. Headlining are 2007 Cannes Jury Prize winner, Luz Silenciosa (Silent Light), a story about forbidden love; and El Violin (The Violin), a drama about “a father, son, and grandson making their living as traveling musicians.”

For the closing night on Oct. 12, “Película” will have Ángeles González Sinde, the writer of the evening’s film, Todos Estamos Invitados, as the special guest. González Sinde, aside from being a writer, is also an award-winning film director and the president of the Academía del Cine Español (Spanish Film Academy). Todos estamos Invitados, which won a Silver Biznaga at the 2008 Málaga Spanish Film Festival, is about a man who suffers from memory loss.

“Pelicula” has something for the children, too. Catch Nocturna, the winner of the 2008 Goya Award for Best Animated Film by Adría García and Víctor Maldonado. The movie is an exploration of “a parallel world that comes to life when the world is asleep.”

Teatrofia, a mime group from Tenerife, Spain, presents “Aquí estamos. Eso va a ser que hemos venido” (“Here we are. That shows we have come”), which is about the foibles of traveling. The presentation on Oct. 11 (11 a.m.) is dedicated to parents and children. The October 10 (11 p.m.) run of Teatrofia’s show is for more mature audiences.

Película will also feature a photo exhibit by celebrated Spanish photographer, Óscar Fernández Orengo. Opening on Oct. 1 at the Greenbelt 3 cinema lobby, the exhibit titled “A través de mis Ojos” (“Through My Eyes”) features black-and-white photos of directors of Hispanic films. The exhibit is on view until Oct. 12.

“There were 15,000 people who watched last year’s ‘Pelicula’ festival. This year, we’re targeting 20,000,” explains Instituto Cervantes director José Rodriguez. “We are bringing movies to the province. This year, we are showing films in Cagayan de Oro. We are bringing the culture outside of Metro Manila and spreading the message. And the message is good cinema.”

The good people at Instituto Cervantes ardently believe that cinema — good cinema, not just the usual balderdash churned out by Hollywood — is for everybody. For kids and their parents, for the youth, for people outside of Metro Manila. That is the philosophy of “Pelicula.” And just like the mystifying lesson learned from El Orfanato: it is a matter of believing in order to see.

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“Película” is organized by Instituto Cervantes, in cooperation with the Spanish Embassy in the Philippines, AECID, Ministerio de Cultura, the Spanish Program for Cultural Cooperation, Qatar Airways, Telecinco Cinema, Cine Europa, Light Rail Transit Authority, Greenbelt, Ayala Malls Cinemas, Alba, Casa Armas, Gaudí, and Espa-Fil.

For information, call 526-1482 local 115 or visit www.manila.cervantes.es  or www.pelicula.ph.