San Sebastian Review: Javier Bardem In ‘The Good Boss’

The Spanish Film Academy has picked Fernando León de Aranoa’s comedy-drama The Good Boss as its entry for the International Oscar race this year.

Javier Bardem is showing off his pride for the Florida Gators on the set of Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile in New York City on Wednesday afternoon (September 29).

Blue Moon (Crai Nou) by Romanian director Alina Grigore won the Golden Shell at the 69th San Sebastian Film Festival whose top awards were swept by female filmmakers and actors.

Jessica Chastain is putting a lot of skin on display in this new look!

San Sebastian ReboundsThrough Thursday, total San Sebastian delegates numbers came in at 3,848, 46.5% up on 2020 and just 11% down on a pre-pandemic 2019. Industry reps drove much of that rebound, San Sebastian welcoming 1,686 this year, compared to 1,185 in 2020 and 1,749 in 2019.

Emiliano Granada Having been unveiled at  San Sebastian’s 2016 Europe-Latin America Co-production Forum, Juan Sebastian Mesa’s second film, “Rust,” mow world premieres at San Sebastian.It follows Jorge, a young Colombian farmer, working at a coffee plantation.

Guy Lodge Film CriticSay you’re hitching a ride at the side of a lonely highway, and two cars slow down at once.

Jessica Chastain has arrived in Spain!

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentJuan (Roberto Álamo), a prison security officer, is a man of few words: In fact, in the first near four minutes of “Josephine,” he doesn’t say anything at all as the film fills us in on his daily routine.It’s a sad, solitary existence of bathetic detail: The film begins with a frontal shot of a spin-dryer turning: Few things seem more banal.

Javier Bardem is all smiles at the premiere of his new movie, The Good Boss, during the 2021 San Sebastian International Film Festival at Kursaal Palace on Tuesday (September 21) in San Sebastian, Spain.

Jamie Lang One of this year’s favorites to shine in the main competition at the San Sebastian Film Festival is Fernando León de Aranoa’s “The Good Boss,” starring Javier Bardem.“The Good Boss” takes place in and around the Blancos Básculas factory, where all things must be in balance at all times. There, the seemingly benevolent boss, Bardem’s Blanco, is preparing for an upcoming inspection by a group visiting local businesses to single out one for a prestigious prize.

Fernando León de Aranoa’s Spanish-language dark comedy The Good Boss had its world premiere last night at the San Sebastian Film Festival in front of a raucous local crowd (albeit at half-capacity due to Covid measures).

There is no shortage of fiery ambition in Claudia Llosa’s “Fever Dream.” Split between a dreamlike portrait of motherhood’s challenges and an allegorical thriller, the filmmaker’s psychological drama manifests its ideas with a woozy candor, a demeanor that demands its audience’s attention. It’s a disposition that warrants appreciation but does not succeed overall and, regrettably, equates to a wasted opportunity.

“Detail is important,” says the disembodied voice of a young boy as a woman is dragged by her feet across the floor of a damp, dingy forest. A voice that could be hers replies as the two voices pool their memories of a day something dreadful happened. “Am I screaming?” asks the woman’s voice. “Yes,” says the boy. The stage is set for what will surely be a horror film.

JD Linville In “Blue Moon,” young Irina dreams of University in Bucharest while her chaotic, rural family serves to undermine her future.

EXCLUSIVE: Spanish indie production powerhouse Mediapro is at San Sebastian Film Festival this year screening two of the buzziest local features in the program: the Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz and Oscar Martinez-starring Official Competition, which arrives from Venice, and the Javier Bardem-fronted The Good Boss, which premieres here.

Looking at a map of Spain, the Basque region seems to be tucked neatly into one corner, cozy as can be. On the ground, of course, it’s a different matter: the Pais Vasco has its own language, culture, food and politics, plus its own history of violence.