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VENICE 2007 Competition

The Big City Life of Guerín

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En la ciudad de Sylvia [+see also:
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by director José Luis Guerín (En construcción) is the first of several Spanish titles screening at the Venice Film Festival, with upcoming titles including Die Stille vor Bach and Nocturna [+see also:
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. It is the only Spanish title that is part of the Competition.

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Like Spanish Cannes title Solitary Fragments [+see also:
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from Jaime Rosales, it explores life in the big city in an unapologetically artistic way, though unlike that film it is has a somewhat more positive outlook on city life, seeing the intermingling of people as opportunities for exchange that could lead to strong emotional reactions.

The film’s unnamed protagonist (a gruffy-looking Xavier Lafitte) is back in Strasbourg to track down Sylvie, a girl he met there six years earlier. He tries to find her again in the faces of the women he encounters, finally following a girl (Pilar López de Ayala) to the point of stalking her, convinced that she is Sylvie.

Strasbourg as sketched by production designer Maite Sánchez is a labyrinthine city in which familiar markers nevertheless return over and over again, with the enigmatic graffito “Laure, je t’aime” playing a central role.

Closed as the city may be, Guerín’s narrative deftly opens up to invite the viewer in and the film’s precise rhythms (reinforced by the editing of Nuria Esquerra) allow the viewer to contemplate the protagonist’s actions and emotional state as well as the futility of his project – can dreams really be chased and, if so, should they be?

The film is a Franco-Spanish co-production shot on location in Strasbourg. It was produced by Eddie Saeta S.A. and Château-Rouge Production, with backing from TVE, Televisió de Catalunya, ICAA, the CNC and the Alsace region. It will be released in Spain on September 14 through Wanda Vision.

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