date watched: May 10, 2009
location: Film Society of Lincoln Center, NYC
(1) Largo Viaje Hacia La Ira/Long Journey to the Rage (dir. Llorenç Soler, Spain, 1969)
I don't know what I was expecting, but I was surprised by the meticulous planning that was evident in these documentaries. It was really a testimony of how art can flourish even in the most despairing and limiting of times.
Although the film was black and white, it was possible to see the elegance of the matador's costumes. To those young boys, it really was worth aspiring to, not just for the glitter and glory, but what it would mean for their future and their family's future.
(2) 52 Domingos/52 Sundays (dir. Llorenç Soler, Spain, 1966)
I often forget how influential Italian Neorealism was in film history. Though this is an oversimplification, its impressive progeny includes the French Nouvelle Vague, the Brazilian Cinema Novo, the Czech New Wave, and many others. The neorealist signatures are also apparent in Soler's works, along with Cinéma Vérité, since he intended these works to be documentaries. I loved how he began and ended this segment with the names of Catalonian workers. These bookends really puts the documentary into perspective: these workers wake up, go to work, and go back home, only to repeat this grueling process the next morning. Soler's heroes, it appears, is not the political rebels, but these everyday workers, who can only hope for a brighter future--their own future, their children's future, and the country's future--without directly partaking in the action.
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