24/12/2002

Spain is known for its vibrant colours and energy and this year’s Christmas film fare will reflect that in full. Domestic productions dominate the market with Felix Cabez’s feature debut, El rifugio del mal, a complex tale of interchangeable roles set in a deserted hotel in the middle of a forest, starting things off in style. The film was co-produced by Spain, Mexico and Chile. Another Iberian offering is La Fiebre del loco directed by Andrès Wood.
European cinema has always enjoyed a strong following in Spain, and this Christmas Roman Polanski’s harrowing The Pianist, winner of the Palme d’Or at the last Cannes film festival will give audiences cause to reflect, as indeed will Fred Schepisi’s Last Orders, a bitter-sweet comedy co-produced by Germany and the UK, and starring Michael Caine and David Hemmings.
The holiday seaons is also a time for auteur-driven and animated films. On 20 December, Bienvenido Mr Marshall by Luis G. Berlanga, one of the most famous Spanish films of the fifties will be re-released. Berlanga was a courageous filmmaker who endured the hostile censorship of the Franco regime. Also scheduled is an animated fairytale for younger audiences entitled La colina del dragòn (The Dragon’s Hill), a Spanish production directed by Angel Izquierdo.

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(Translated from Italian)