★ 6 / 10
Nostalgic film about an elderly hippie , José Sacristán , who once again proves to be one of the best actors in the world
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Formentera Lady (2018) tells the story of an old hippie (José Sacristan) who lives alone on the island of Formentera since the Seventies , he still maintains…
Formentera Lady (2018) tells the story of an old hippie (José Sacristan) who lives alone on the island of Formentera since the Seventies , he still maintains the old customs , lives without electricity , earns a living playing an instrument, Banjo, in various beach bars and clubs . He is a loner , as long time ago he was abandoned by his wife and daughter Anna who, tired of living on an island that becomes isolated , decided to go to Barcelona to be able to have a life with some future . The theme Formentera Lady, from the album by the famous progressive rock band King Crimson , Islands (1971) , is a hymn to the time when Formentera became a hippie paradise . This is where Pau Durà's film begins, in which life's Samuel will change when overnight he receives a visit from his daughter (Nora Navas) , whom he has not seen for many years and then he finds out that her daughter wants to leave her grandson for a while due to a job in France . As she asks him to take care of his grandson (Sandro Ballesteros) , from the first moment he does not love him very much, but he subsequently changes the mind. As the days go by, he will have no choice but to get used to it . After having no choice but to accept, Samuel will have to learn to live with his grandson on a journey where the initiation to life joins the twilight odyssey that is to avoid the end of our days.
¨Formentera Lady¨ is an endearing and attractive Dramedy in which director debutant Pau Durà manages to create a story full of nostalgia , good feeling , and along the way , intelligently mixing comedy and drama without ever falling into affectation , falsehood or atificiality. A film whose island, Formentera, is one more essential role , being brilliantly photographed by cameraman Miguel Llorens , adding catching soundtrack from ¨Formentera Lady¨ written by Robert Fripp and Pete Sinfield performed by King Crimson , as well as Banjo music . The fundamental aspect of the story is the clashing that happens between the two generations represented by the disconcerting grandfather and the naive grandson , and it shows that they have had a good chemistry among them . But the most interesting of the film it is not only the fact that Pau directed the film, but also that he was in charge of the enjoyable writing , it has everything to please the viewer and apart from a cast of some well-known actors , it presents a very charming and pleasant story . Offbeat flick , it has a few gaps and is slow-moving , but anyway , it is compensated with the great performances from Jose Sacristán, Jordi Sánchez , Ferran Rañé , Mireia Ross , Nuria Mencia and even the newcomer little boy Sandro Ballesteros who in spite of his short age he's pretty well . As José Sacristán gives a magnificent performance -one of the best Spanish acting seen so far this year- as Samuel, a veteran hippie musician whose life on the island is altered by the arrival of his ten-year-old grandson . From time to time , this is a very intelligent comedy , with soft dramatic touches , which talks about second chances , redemption and unfulfilled dreams .
The actor Pau Durá, makes the leap to directing , with this family melodrama with José Sacristán as the great protagonist. Pau had previously directed several short films such as ¨ L'audífono¨, ¨Praeludium¨ , ¨Tocant el mar¨, "El Cerdo" and "El Hambre" and had worked as an actor in series such as ¨Hache¨, Traición¨. ¨La zona¨ and "El Príncipe". A debut film that, although not perfect, shows that the actor Pau Durá has the skills to be in the future a great director, adding
a colorful cinematography that shows the island of Formentera as another starring of the flick . And it had various nominations and prizes : Gaudí Awards 2019 Nominee , Gaudí Award Best Film Pau Durà director/writer . Málaga Spanish Film Festival 2018 Nominee Golden Biznaga Best Spanish Film Pau Durà. Premis de l'Audiovisual Valencià/Premios del Audiovisual Valenciano 2018 Winner AVAV Best Actor , José Sacristán , Best Supporting Actress Pepa Juan . Toulouse Cinespaña 2018 Winner Best First Film Pau Durà.
¨Formentera Lady (2018)¨ results to be a hot homage to a great actor , Jose Sacristan , a Spanish player with a long career , about forty years , in which he has been playing all kind roles . As José Sacristán was born in 1937 , Chinchón, Madrid . He is an magnificent actor and occasionally director, especially known for Un Lugar en Mundo (1992), Éste Es Mi barrio (1996) and El Viaje a Ninguna Parte (1986). He is married to also actress Leonor Benedetto. Other important films he performed are the followings : Un Hombre Llamado Flor de Otoño , Niñas.. al Salón , Reina Zanahoria , Acto Posesión , Asignatura Pendiente , Hasta Matrimonio Nos Separe and Parranda . Furthermore , Sacristan directed three acceptable films : 1977 Yo Bajo en la Próxima, ¿y Usted? , 1987 Cara Acelga and 1983 Soldados De Plomo .
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