04/11/2005

The 13th Brussels Spanish and Latin American Film Festival, now known as FestCEAL, officially opened last night with a brilliant example of artistic cooperation between Spain, Argentina and Italy. El método (The method Grönholm) by the Argentinean director Marcelo Piñeyro proposes an ironic and tough view of the world of private business and takes the process of selection of seven applicants to the extreme, where principles seem to vanish and rivals become targets to be eliminatated. Is it what the so-called Grönholm method is about? Nobody seems to know for sure, but all of them decide to take the risk.

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Based upon a play by Jordi Galcerán, the plot intelligently combines the eliminatory tests with the coffee-break scenes, which rather than relaxing the decreasing number of applicants, introduces further tension and lead to more latent, inevitable conflicts. Apart from the initial sequences announcing an anti-globalisation protest in the streets, all the scenes were shot in the company headquarters. The huis-clos effect contributes to the claustrophobic atmosphere although the script efficiently keeps the fragile balance between drama and comedy. Laughter is perhaps the characters – and our – only escape. El método is - above all – an actors film. Eduardo Noriega, who already encountered Piñeyro in Plata Quemada (2000), heads a talented casting which includes Najwa Nimri – a cross between a sexy successful executive and a frustrated woman -, Eduard Fernández – miles away from his comic performance in Cosas que hacen que la vida valga la pena - Ernesto Alteiro (Semen - see film focus) – such a gifted actor for comedy – Adriana Ozores (Héctor) – in a short but thrilling performance - among others…
Shot in Madrid between November 2004 and January 2005, El método opened in Spain in September and so far has grossed 790.404,98 €. Co-produced by Alquimia Cinema, Tornasol Films, Arena and Cattleya, international sales are handled by Latido Films.

In its first day, the FestCEAL also screened Federico Luppi's directorial debut, Pasos. Co-produced by Igeldo Komunikazioa, Didac Films and Malkina Producciones, the film premiered in Spain in June (read the article); it has been seen so far by 11.700 people and grossed 60.316,46 €.