Maspalomas, on the road to the recovery of individual freedom
The Basque film directed by Jose Mari Goenaga and Aitor Arregi is starring the homosexual Vicente, who has to return to the closet of San Sebastian and has done all the credit to be among the winners of the Official Section.
From the very beginning, it is very clear to us what Maspalomas is, the great gay resort located in Gran Canaria. Maspalomas , the film of directors Jose Mari Goenaga and Aitor Arregi , will give us a little bit of a glimpse.
The synopsis of the latest production of Moriarti presents us with an older man who will have to get back into the closet: Vicente, 76. From the freedom of Maspalomas, the protagonist of this film (Jose Ramon Soroiz) is forced to return to the closet of the nursing home of San Sebastian, and to meet his abandoned daughter (Nagore Aranburu) 25 years earlier.
This premise is used by Goenaga's script to address a number of issues. At the heart of it is the difficulty of an older man to live his homosexuality freely, but there are also challenges around the third age, both in terms of body aging itself and in terms of relationships between men.
To return to San Sebastian means ,of course, to Vicente to put himself back in the closet, as the circumstances of his generation require, until he realizes the benefits of accepting himself in his hometown as well, and the bad.
All these subjects have been beautifully stitched together by the Moriartics, articulating the whole environment according to the character. It is obvious that the intention is to penetrate the heart of the viewer, but truth and sincerity prevail throughout the film.
Maspalomas is a huge closet, but it's big and full of people.
Soroiz and Aranburu have done a great job, and we must not forget thecounterpoint of Kandido Uranga. It would be no surprise if the protagonist of a film in the Official Section of the Festival added a Silver Shell to the award for Basque speaking.
The reception of the public has been very warm. The Kursaal, excited, has greeted Maspalomas with applause, long, while the credits have lasted. The work has a solid foundation to convince the critic and the jury. But the San Sebastian Festival is one of those festivals where film fans are the protagonists, and its success has been to fall in love with them.
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