El Planeta

El Planeta tracks soon-to-be evicted mother-daughter grifters, María Rendueles and Leonor (or Leo) Jimenez, in the aftermath of the 2008-2014 Spanish financial crisis. Based on real life mother-daughter scammers, Justina and Ana Belén (Las Falsas Ricas de Gijón), who swindled up to 6000 euros in restaurants and establishments in Gijón.

María and Leo follow a similar trajectory in the picaresque film, often finding replenishment in each other's company in an otherwise starved world. Many scenes present portraits of idle time. Shots are often stationary, long and wide with few closeups, reminiscent of Claire Denis, tinged with the domestic intimacies of Hong Sang-soo, and Jim Jarmusch's unhurried, deadpan black and white early work. Enveloped by the vast oceanic landscapes of the bored port of Gijón, Ulman's hometown, the city's dead-endedness evokes the silent desperation of Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show (1971). The city is desolate, almost entirely populated by eldery people, with most of its businesses permanently closed and shrouded in for sale signs, wood, and graffiti. The world is built entirely around money, all María and Leo can inevitably do is wait for the government to figure out they don't have it and later be escorted to society's exit. Still, the two choose to retain some agency and personal sense of dignity as they opt to exit well-dressed and freshly manicured by controlling the last thing they have left, their bodies.

Clever, stylish and subtle, El Planeta made me wish more indie movies got made today! We need such vantages into the world

Playful and meditative in equal turns, El Planeta is a unique feature film debut - a re-invention of auteur cinema for the Internet age, and the arrival of a Amalia Ulman as a visionary director. It is a timely story about an unconventional millennial family, aspirational consumer culture, capitalism and failure. It feels relevant, fresh and non-conformist in both its content and execution, yet never confrontational.

Amalia's impact in shaping contemporary art and culture is already undeniable. In 2014, Amalia Ulman crossed over from a small community of young "post-Internet" artists to international fame with her project, "Excellences and Perfections." Google the project or Amalia's name and you'll find plenty of documentation. I've followed her artwork since then, and when I saw Amalia was going to make a feature film, of course I was interested in knowing more and got a ticket to see it at Sundance 2021.

I'm not sure exactly what I expected when I started the film, but needless to say I was very impressed. The film is deliberate, slow, punctuated by memorable scenes. You find yourself drawn more and more into the lives of the characters María and Leonor, a mother and daughter facing eviction in Gijón, Asturias. Their everyday lives are rendered timelessly, yet with an eye to contemporary detail - seeing an Odwalla1221 sweater in a movie I almost did a double take, as it was like seeing something from my social media timeline materialize into a cinematic universe.

I don't want to give too much of the film away as it has not been widely released yet, but what I loved most about the film - what inspired me the most - is that the film is made with a profound amount of respect for storytelling and the audience, rather than forcing her way of seeing the world onto us. In this way, El Planeta rewards the viewer with a generosity of spirit. It's a testimony to Amalia's incredible ability to inhabit and work from within different media forms that she was able to take independent cinema on its terms and craft a well-paced, stylish drama as her feature debut. I look forward to seeing what she'll make next!

This film is beautiful and stylish, witty clever and funny but I don't think a dark comedy, as one reviewer called it here is an apt title, I think it meant to be a satire but because it's so funny and elegant most of its barbs end up feeling like tickles. So we chuckle or laugh when we should've moved uncomfortably in our chairs hiding our faces with shame.

The other fault it has is a failure to build real human characters. Both of the leads come out as made up creatures, especially so the mother that doesn't create even the slightest empathy to her plight. The daughter, who's being played by the film's writer-director Amalia Ulman does get a fair share of character building moments but every time we start developing any empathy for her the film takes a step back and alienates us from her again. So we may laugh and chuckle but I think that's not the emotions the film aimed for. In fact I don't think that's the emotions the film should've aimed for.

This film was fantastic for so many reasons. First off, as a director she chose restraint where most American films (much indie film included) are afraid to do so. Many moments spoke for themselves and she didn't fall into the trap of needing them to be neatly tied or revisited.

She was not afraid of silences and visual poetry, which my wife and I enjoyed immensely.

For anyone lucky enough to have lived in Spain (we lived there and in Argentina for many years, seeing the effects of economic crises up close) it is clear that there is no forced attempt at dark comedy here - the combination of economic crises and rigid bureaucracy forces thousands to emigrate and leaves hard working, decent people in insanely complex isolation with no way out. Extreme choices result. Sometimes a little laughter is essential to survival in those situations! Through the small simple world she creates (undoubtedly on a very tight budget) she portrays this brilliantly.

And her Mom?! It appears this is the only acting she's ever done and she was fantastic!

Thank you, Amalia! We loved it.