The La Mirada film festival opened this week. I missed out last year, and as a fluent Spanish speaker, I like watching Spanish films and keeping up my langauge skills as much as possible. This year, I emailed C & M so we could go watch a movie or two together.

We passed on Thieves, as it was opening night and tickets were a horrifying $45 each! We ended up choosing Death of a Cyclist and I bought our tickets the same day. Funny enough, I ended up winning tickets to Thieves and the opening night gala the next day!

I’d never been to a premiere before. It was quite exciting, with paparazzi and beautiful people working the room. Other than waiting 1 hour for invited VIPs to show up, and the cost, it was quite enjoyable. Best of all was the jamon iberico.. yum!!

The next day, we met C & M for Death of a Cyclist. The film has been hailed as a masterpiece:

Death of a Cyclist
photo via The Criterion Collection

Spanish cinema under Franco was a stifled and sterile industry, kept under strict government control. Bardem, the film’s director, was one of the few brave filmmakers to question the psychological and political oppression of the day and deal with the realities of contemporary life.

{read the rest of the review here}

When watching a “foreign language” film, I’m always fascinated at what amuses the native speakers vs. the non-native speakers. I remember laughing inanely to The World’s Fastest Indian in Mexico City while the Mexicans were silent. Something is always lost in translation. This film was the same, and it was a privilege sitting with C & M and getting a unique perspective from them, even though we were sushed very loudly by the person sitting in front of us! C’s stories of his family during in Franco’s era deepened my understanding of the film, which I’d found merely good (rather than great) at first glimpse. Unlike many others, I didn’t mind the ending too much.

After a very yummy dinner with C & M’s friends at Chocolate Buddha, we walked 30mins back to the car. The irony is that the car was parked further away than home, thanks to the bloody footy and rugby games nearby. Thankfully it was a beautiful night, and a very pleasant walk back.

Sometimes I love living in Melbourne!