News

Film Constellation is launching international sales on “About a Hero,” directed by Piotr Winiewicz, an AI-driven murder mystery set to open the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). Variety premieres the film’s teaser here.

The film is an adaptation of a script co-written by an AI trained on Werner Herzog’s body of work, with his permission. Winiewicz was inspired by a quote from Herzog himself stating: “A computer will not create a film as good as mine in 4,500 years.” The result is a fictional narrative that is ironically self-reflective, interlaced with a collection of interviews with artists, philosophers and scientists reflecting on the notion of originality, authenticity, immortality and soul in the age of AI.

When a local factory worker named Dorem Clery dies under mysterious circumstances, the film’s narrator, Werner Herzog, travels to Getunkirchenburg to investigate his perplexing death. But Herzog is not who he seems,...

With Janus possessing the much-needed restorations, Catherine Breillat is getting her biggest-ever spotlight in November’s Criterion Channel series spanning 1976’s A Real Young Girl to 2004’s Anatomy of Hell––just one of numerous retrospectives arriving next month. They’re also spotlighting Ida Lupino, directorial efforts of John Turturro (who also gets an “Adventures In Moviegoing”), the Coen brothers, and Jacques Audiard.

In a slightly more macroscopic view, Columbia Noir and a new edition of “Queersighting” ring in Noirvember. Gregg Araki’s Teen Apocalypse trilogy and Miller’s Crossing get Criterion Editions, while restorations of David Bowie-starrer The Linguini Incident, Med Hondo’s West Indies, and Dennis Hopper’s Out of the Blue make streaming debuts; and Kevin Jerome Everson’s Tonsler Park arrives just in time for another grim election day.

See the full list of titles arriving in November below:

36 fillette, Catherine Breillat, 1988

Anatomy of Hell, Catherine Breillat,...

This essay by Kate Siegel on her favorite horror movie is one of several contributed as part of Variety’s 100 Best Horror Movies of All Time package.

Reality is subjective. If what I see as blue can be your red, what else is just perception? To keep a grip on sanity, we ignore that thought knocking at the back of our brains. That spinning, mind-melting feeling that makes us question the very earth under our feet and leaves us changed forever.

This is the bleeding heart at the center of “The Others” — a haunting, dread-filled waltz of a movie directed by Alejandro Amenábar and starring Nicole Kidman as Grace, a woman who lives with her two photosensitive children on her darkened old family estate. We’re wrapped up in their family as they begin to believe their house is haunted, and then… I won’t spoil one of my favorite cinematic twists of all time.

Javier Bardem has worked on several projects showcasing his dynamic range as an actor. From leading roles to chilling antagonists, he has participated in each and every genre of the industry. Currently, the actor is enjoying his moment in the limelight, all thanks to his portrayal of José Menendez in Monsters Season 2.

Javier Bardem in Monsters season 2 | Credits: Netflix

However, in his career spanning several decades, there are also several movies that every Bardem fan must know. In this article, let’s dive deeper into the actor’s top 5 roles and movies that perfectly showcase his versatility.

5. No Country for Old Men (2007) Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men | Credits: Miramax

Directed by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, in this critically acclaimed thriller, Javier Bardem delivers a chilling portrayal of Anton Chigurh. He’s a remorseful and methodical hitman who’s a master when it comes to creating fear and unease in the atmosphere.

San Sebastian — At one of the biggest industry gatherings at this year’s San Sebastián Festival, Netflix has announced new Spanish movies from “Cable Girls” showrunner Ramón Campos and “Cross the Line” director David Victori, as it unveiled new talent details on four other banner titles.

Produced by Ramón Campos at his Madrid-based label Bambú Producciones, also behind “Grand Hotel,” “Velvet” and “Fariña,” and directed by Carlos Sedes “The Asunta Case,” “Cable Girls”), murder mystery “La Viuda Negra” begins with a body stabbed seven times is discovered in a car park in Valencia. The prime suspect for the city’s Homicide Group is Maje, the dead man’s Maje, young and kind widow to whom the deceased had been married for less than a year.

Billed as a psychological thriller, Victori’s “Cortafuego” is produced by Anxo Rodríguez y Ferrán Tomás of ESpotlight Media and stars a topnotch cast of Joaquín Furriel,...

“Hold Your Breath“ is directors Karrie Crouse and Will Joines’ debut feature, developed as part of the Sundance Institute’s Writer’s Lab program and likely a passion project. Unfortunately, due to an extremely familiar and well-worn cabin fever premise, it offers a highly repetitive and derivative experience – and cannot escape the shadow of its numerous predecessors that have covered similar ground. It does for dust what Alejandro Amenábar’s “The Others” did for light, but lacks its formal command, tactile texture,s, and enveloping atmosphere.

Continue reading ‘Hold Your Breath’ Review: A Fantastic Sarah Paulson Can’t Save Formulaic Horror Drama [TIFF] at The Playlist.

The San Sebastian Film Festival, the biggest film event in the Spanish-speaking world, has unveiled a packed lineup of Spanish titles that is strong on women auteurs, led by Iciar Bollaín, Pilar Palomero, Paula Ortiz and Alauda Ruiz de Azua, who are now stepping up in scale or industry backing as big SVOD players – Movistar Plus+, Prime Video – move into the production of Spanish movies aimed at theatrical release or back their original series.

Vying in main competition, Bollaín’s “I Am Nevenka” looks like the first film to see the light of day from six auteur event movies co-produced by Movistar Plus+ and directed by leading cinematographic talent such as Rodrigo Sorogoyen and Alberto Fernández.

Also selected are two leading lights of a younger generation of women directors which have galvanised Spanish arthouse but are now looking for broader audiences.

Goya and San Sebastian winner Pilar Palomero competes in main competition with “Glimmers,...

In the last decade, the Maltese film industry has undergone radical development, with a strong focus on seeing the island country evolve from a service provider to Hollywood productions to telling their own stories on screen.

Speaking with Variety ahead of the second edition of the Mediterrane Film Festival, Maltese filmmakers have highlighted the importance of fostering local talent, rerouting foreign investment into native productions and strengthening bonds with neighboring countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

“Things have changed drastically in recent years,” said veteran filmmaker Mario Philip Azzopardi, whose 1971 “Il-Gaġġa” is widely presumed to be the first full-length feature filmed entirely in Maltese. “The building of shooting facilities, especially the water tanks, attracted a lot of movies and now there’s the attraction of 40% tax rebate. The problem is we have become primarily a service country, and creating Maltese movies is extremely difficult. We can’t afford the budgets of foreign films.

by Mark Brinkerhoff

Jersey, the Channel Islands

1945

A screaming, terrified-looking Grace Stewart, played by an eerily put-together Nicole Kidman, awakens from a frightful dream (?) in the opening scene of Alejandro Amenábar’s wonderfully gothic 2001 thriller. Introduced in the vein of a spooky European fairy tale, The Others begins bracingly and basically doesn’t quit for all of its perfectly crafted 100 or so minutes. It’s a ghost story with ghostly storytelling beats from a pre-9/11 world of filmmaking. Released in the halcyon days of late summer 2001, The Others arrived with a pretty sterling production-distribution team at its back, despite its relatively slim ($17 million) budget: [Tom] Cruise-[Paula] Wagner Productions, Dimension Films and Studio Canal distributors. Having already announced—and by then finalized—a bombshell divorce from Cruise, Kidman appeared to have quite a bit of her own star power riding on the Cruise-produced film. Fortunately for her, The Others turned out to be an unqualified success…...

New films by Julio Medem, Alejandro Amenábar, Alberto Rodríguez, Isaki Lacuesta, Jonas Trueba and Oliver Laxe join a brace of smart thrillers in a rich Cannes lineup from Spain.

“8,” (Julio Medem)

Medem returns towhat he does best: a love story transcending time and space and a poetic critique of recent history, according to sales agent Latido Films. “Fariña’s” Javier Rey and “La Mesías” Ana Rujus star as the lovers. Morena Films produces.

Sales: Latido

“As Neves,” (Sonia Méndez)

After a magic mushroom-fueled party, teens in a snowbound Galician village discover one of them is missing. The film was well-received at the Malaga festival.

Sales: Begin Again Films

“Barren Land,” (Albert Pintó)

From a director on “Money Heist” and “Berlin,” this suspense thriller captures how the drug trade devastates friendships and lives in Andalusía’s Cádiz. Film sports a great cast: Luis Zahera (“The Beasts”), Karra Elejalde (“While at War...

Spanish sales agents are on some kind of roll. The European Film Market during the Berlinale proved robust, and Malaga Film Festival better still.

“Malaga was great for our movies,” Latido Films’ Antonio Saura reported at its conclusion. “We have one of the best lineups in our history covering all genres and all very marketable.”

That lineup includes Jim Sheridan’s drama “Recreation,” starring Vicky Krieps, and “La Casa” and “Saturn Return,” both Malaga standouts that together won seven awards.

With the market more receptive to Spanish projects, it’s important to pick the right genre mix. “Definitely for thrillers, for animated films, things are good. Spanish thrillers are prestigious now. They’ve performed well theatrically in many countries,” says Filmax’s head of international Iván Diaz. But for comedies, dramas or romantic comedies, it’s a bit more arduous. “If you’re trying to sell Spanish romantic comedies, however,...

Principal photography has begun on “The Captive,” a historical epic from “The Others’” Alejandro Amenábar, starring Julio Peña (“Berlin”) as “Don Quixote” author Miguel de Cervantes, a prisoner of Ottoman corsairs, seen in a very first still from the film, alongside Alessandro Borghi (“Suburra”), playing his captor, which has been shared in exclusivity with Variety.

Paris and London-based production, finance and sales house Film Constellation handles worldwide sales. Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture is on board to release the film in Spain in 2025.

If Peña look spruce but worse for wear, little wonder. An origins story of the early flowering of literary genius in Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote” and slice of mean street life “Rinconete and Cortadillo,” this story is wrapped in a historical thriller.

“The Captive,” no ordinary bio, turns on an episode in Cervantes life which was to shape not only his gift for storytelling...

Descubre todos los detalles de la película. © Disney

Comienza el rodaje de “El Cautivo”, la nueva película de Alejandro Amenábar (“Los Otros”) que narra las vivencias y aventuras del joven Miguel de Cervantes durante su cautiverio en Argel.

La película se sitúa en el año 1575 cuando el joven Miguel de Cervantes, herido en combate naval, es capturado en alta mar por corsarios argelinos a su regreso a España. Consciente de que le espera una muerte cruel en Argel si no paga pronto su rescate, Miguel descubre un refugio inesperado en su pasión por contar historias. Sus fascinantes relatos devuelven la esperanza a sus compañeros de prisión y acaban atrayendo la atención de Hassan, el misterioso y temido Bajá de Argel, con quien empieza a desarrollar una extraña afinidad. A medida que crece el conflicto entre sus compañeros de prisión, Miguel, impulsado por su inquebrantable optimismo, comienza a idear un audaz plan de fuga.

London- and Paris-based production, finance and sales outfit Film Constellation has boarded international sales on Titus Kaphar’s drama “Exhibiting Forgiveness.”

The film received strong reviews after its January premiere at Sundance in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section, and was picked up for North American distribution by Roadside Attractions, with plans for a wide theatrical release in the fall and awards campaign.

Film Constellation will screen the film for buyers in Cannes.

In the film, an artist finds his path to success derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father, a troubled man desperate to reconcile. Together, they learn that forgetting may be harder than forgiving.

The directorial debut of visual artist Kaphar, “Exhibiting Forgiveness” stars André Holland, Andra Day, John Earl Jelks and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.

Variety’s Owen Gleiberman gave the film a positive review, describing it as “a forceful drama free of feel-good fakery” and praising Holland’s performance as “fierce,...

“Film is forever.”

Nicole Kidman, the 49th recipient of the prestigious AFI Life Achievement Award, made her acceptance speech on the Dolby Theatre stage on Saturday, April 27 about the filmmakers who’ve shaped her career — and her love for movies and storytelling.

The Academy Award-winning actress was joined by presenters including her “Big Little Lies” co-stars Reese Witherspoon and Meryl Streep, a past AFI recipient who handed Kidman the honors at the night’s end. “Can I just say, Meryl Streep? I just loved you. I always loved you. I don’t know what it is. You’re a beacon of excellence and warmth and generosity, and you’ve been my guiding light. To see this from you, you have no idea. My husband can attest, my parents can attest, it’s always been you, and no one can touch you.”

Kidman’s opening remarks set the tone for a...

Nicole Kidman "craves the extremes".The 56-year-old actress has worked across a variety of genres and says she loves pushing herself to try new things.She told The Hollywood Reporter: "I made 'Dogville' after 'Moulin Rouge'! I went from lavish extremes to … I’d come from sequins and trapezes, top hats, hundreds of people singing and dancing. And suddenly I was in Sweden for 'Dogville', completely in the dark. But then I went to Spain and made 'The Others' with Alejandro Amenábar, who didn’t speak English. I even worked here in Nashville on 'Stoker' with director Park Chan-wook, who also doesn’t speak English. I crave those extremes, those emotions. I’ve definitely had an extreme life."And, Nicole revealed that she is always surprised by the reactions her movies elicit from fans.She said: "There are always surprises. I...

Four decades after her feature debut in 1983’s BMX Bandits, Oscar and two-time Emmy winner Nicole Kidman is set to receive a history-making honor: the AFI Life Achievement Award, which for the first time in 49 years will go to an Australian performer. But the (American-born) Kidman considers herself a part of world cinema, having worked with such renowned filmmakers as Stanley Kubrick (Eyes Wide Shut), Jane Campion (The Portrait of a Lady), Park Chan-wook (Stoker), Sofia Coppola (The Beguiled), Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge!) and Jonathan Glazer (Birth). The actress and producer reflects on how the honor represents both a robust career and a life well traveled.

You’ve received many awards throughout your career. What is so special about this honor?

The list of honorees that have come before me. I’m floored, actually, because there are so few, and there are no Australians. I was overwhelmed by it.

Do...

“Barren Land,” from Spain’s Albert Pintó, director of Netflix global blockbusters “Money Heist,” “Berlin” and “Nowhere,” have been snapped up by Spain’s Film Factory Entertainment.

From an original idea by producer Alvaro Ariza, “Barren Land” (“Tierra de Nadie”) is penned by Fernando Navarro, one of Spain’s go-to screenwriters whose credits include Netflix hits “Below Zero” and “Veronica.”

Film Factory will launch world sales on “Barren Land,” as it builds a powerful slate of upscale commercial packages. Sony Pictures Entertainment Iberia will release the film in Spain next year.

Now with principal photography underway in Cadiz, southern Spain, the suspense thriller captures the devastation of friendships, lives and the whole province by a rampant drug trade, action also expanding to the Straits of Gibraltar.

“An ode to friendship, focusing on three characters whose paths diverge due to the longstanding situation in the Southern part of Spain,” “Barren Land” turns on Mateo “El Gallego,...

Have you ever experienced that electrifying moment in a film when everything you thought you knew gets flipped on its head?

I know I have, and let me tell you, there’s nothing quite like the rush of adrenaline that comes from a jaw-dropping twist ending.

Join me on a thrilling cinematic adventure as we dive deep into the realm of mind-bending twist endings.

From the classics that stunned audiences to the hidden gems that deserve more attention, we’re about to embark on a journey through the twists and turns that make movie magic genuinely unforgettable.

Get comfy because the surprises are about to begin!

A Personal Quest for Unforgettable Endings

As a devoted film enthusiast, I’ve always cherished the rollercoaster of emotions that movies can evoke.

Yet, those moments of sheer shock and awe have etched themselves into my memories.

From the palpable gasps of disbelief to...

Orson Welles famously started but never finished an adaptation in Spain of Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes’ beloved 17th-century novel. Terry Gilliam’s first attempt to shoot his take on Quixote fell apart so spectacularly in 2000 that it resulted in a widely viewed “unmaking-of” documentary titled, grimly, Lost in La Mancha.

But they weren’t just tilting at windmills. Gilliam completed The Man Who Killed Don Quixote nearly two decades later, making it one of literally dozens of screen adaptations from around the world based on the widely published novel. In April, Oscar-winning director Alejandro Amenábar (The Sea Inside)will start shooting on The Captive, an origin tale about a young, storytelling Cervantes in an Algiers prison in 1575.

Spanish literature — and its literary figures — have been inspiring filmmakers since the dawn of cinema. According to a now-defunct Cervantes Virtual Library database, considered incomplete by some accounts, in Spain almost 1,200 literary...

It may not match last year’s sheer quantity in competition strands, but Spain still boasts a high quality presence at the Berlinale. Following, highlights the festival and EFM:

“Every You Every Me,” (Michael Fetter Nathansky)

A factory worker strives to reconnect with her distant husband, exploring the rediscovery of love within the complexities of relationships. From Contando Films, Studio Zentral, Network Movie and Nephilim, a German-Spanish production.

“Cura Sana,” (Lucía G. Romero)

Produced by Escac Films, this Generation 14plus premiere delves into sisters’ lives shaped by ancestral violence, exploring deep familial bonds and lasting impact of abuse.

“Deprisa, Deprisa,” (Carlos Saura)

A classic: Set to a memorable flamenco-pop score, four young Madrid delinquents pull robberies, snort heroin, steal cars the film capturing the raw energy youth and their vague, but visceral sense of ‘liberty.’ A restoration of a seminal work.

“The Human Hibernation,” (Anna Cornudella)

A sci-fi exploration of siblings undergoing hibernation,...

Going into Berlin’s European Film Market, Spain’s biggest sales agents are under no illusion just how tough international markets have become.

“Paradoxically, in one of the best moments for Spanish productions, we are finding that some of our top dramas are getting hard to sell unless selected in Cannes, Venice or Berlin,” says Latido Films CEO Antonio Saura.

Also, “If American productions dominate at least 80% of markets, and local productions claim about half what remains. You’re left with just 10% of markets for many wonderful films to try to find audience opportunities. Competition is fiercer than ever,” he says.

“Many newer platforms are insisting on revenue shares. This rarely works for us,” observes Feel Sales’ Yennifer Fasciani.

Yet companies are fighting back. “Either a film works very well or not at all. Our strategy is increasingly focusing on major titles, leaving no middle ground,” states Film Factory Entertainment’s Vicente Canales,...

A new film industry superclass is emerging in Spain: movies powered or co-backed by its streaming giants.

Perhaps the biggest example, Netflix Spain’s Andes flight disaster “Society of the Snow,” scored two Academy Award nominations last month.

Now, in the run-up to Berlin, London-based Film Constellation has acquired most world sales rights to “The Captive,” from Oscar winner Alejandro Amenábar (“The Sea Inside”) and Mod Producciones, a $15 million period adventure epic on the literary makings of “Quixote”author Miguel de Cervantes, held to ransom in a Moorish corsair jail.

Film Factory Ent. will take to market Iciar Bollain’s “I Am Nevenka,” about a feminist pioneer in Spain, and an untitled project from “Prison 77’s” Alberto Rodriguez, two fruit of the first movie slate from Movistar Plus+, the biggest Spanish pay TV/SVOD player, announced in January.

Spanish movies overperform on Netflix and Movistar Plus+. As of Feb.

Principal photography is set to begin in April on “The Captive” (“El Cautivo”), the period adventure epic from Alejandro Amenábar, whose “The Sea Inside” won an Oscar for best foreign language film. Film Constellation has boarded worldwide sales, and will introduce the project to buyers at the European Film Market.

The film centers on the origin story of Miguel de Cervantes, the author of the iconic novel “Don Quixote.” At the age of 28, Cervantes was taken captive by the Moors in Algiers, leading to his creative birth.

The $15 million production will shoot at locations in Spain including Valencia, Alicante and Seville.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is on board to release the film in Spain next year.

The film is set in Algiers in 1575 when Cervantes, a wounded 28-year-old Spanish Navy soldier, is held prisoner by Ottoman corsairs. Faced with a ticking clock, a cruel death awaits him should his...

Telefonica’s Movistar Plus+, Spain’s biggest pay TV-svod operator, is set to co-produce new movies from Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Iciar Bollaín, Alberto Rodríguez, Óliver Laxe and Ana Rujas. It’s a move which sees the high-end Spanish TV powerhouse become one of Spain’s most significant movie players.

Titles in the slate are backed by top Spanish producers such as Agustín Almodóvar and Esther García at El Deseo – backing Laxe’s next – and Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo at their high-flying new production house Suma Content, producing what will be Rujas’ debut feature as a director.

The acclaimed “La Mesías,” the latest series from Los Javis – as Ambrossi and Calvo are known – will have its international premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, where it will the only European series at this year’s event.

In a fillip for Spain’s box office, still 26% down on pre-pandemic levels, Movistar Plus+ will...

“Death of a loved one can lead people to do the strangest things.”

Of all the female killers in the wide world of cinema, few strike such an abhorrent cord as a mother who kills her children. Assumed to be natural caregivers and expected to automatically love their offspring, we place a special taboo on the women who not only fail to protect their kids, but actively cause their deaths. But mothers are not only human beings with complex inner lives, they are flawed, fallible, and just as likely to be cruel as the rest of society. Few films explore the mindset of a murderous mother like Alejandro Amenábar’s The Others. Within the trappings of a classic ghost story, this gorgeous film views its tragic heroine with a compassionate lens, extending an olive branch to a woman who has done the unthinkable. As the fog closes in and intruders threaten her carefully constructed life,...

The episode of Revisited covering The Others was Written, Edited, and Narrated by Ric Solomon, Produced by Tyler Nichols and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

If you go into any AMC theater in the past year, you’ve been graced with one of the best theater chain openings of all time. I’m sure anyone watching this video knows exactly what I’m referring to. If not, it’s none other than Nicole Kidman welcoming you to the movies. Her onscreen presence has been nothing short of incredible. She has starred in some truly great films such as Eyes Wide Shut, Moulin Rouge, Cold Mountain, and this writer’s favorite Practical Magic. But back in 2001, Nicole teamed up with Alejandro Amenabar to make one of the creepiest supernatural horror flicks of all time. It’s a film that was not only a big box office success, but...

Madrid-based Rock & Ruz – the production company of Netflix’s “Nowhere,” which has just been confirmed by Netflix as its most-viewed Spanish-language movie of all time – has pacted new projects with Italy’s Leonardo Fasoli, a head-writer of “Gomorrah” and creator of “ZeroZeroZero,” and Spain-based Alejandro Hernández, a co-writer on Alejandro Amenábar’s “While at War” and “La Fortuna.”

Targeting the key to high-end fiction success in Europe – its screenwriters – and added to “Nowhere” and an upcoming Spanish-Mexican remake of hit Korean movie “Miracle in Cell No. 7” – the freshly-announced projects mark out Rock & Ruz as a new and significant Spain-based international player.

As international markets – both theatrical and global streamers – are asking for bigger films with identifiable audiences, Rock & Ruz’s bold slate looks like a ready source of titles.

“Our company is focused on producing global strategic projects. No matter if they are in English or Spanish,” Rock & Ruz...

New Amazon Prime Video series “Los Farad,” released Dec. 12, takes a look at the Cold War from one of its strangest geo-political hubs, 1980s Málaga. The action-packed show follows a family that is normal in many ways, despite earning a luxurious living as arms traffickers.

Part of a determinedly diverse and burgeoning lineup at Spain’s Prime Video, “Los Farad” is a high-profile prestige package starring Miguel Herrán – who plays Rio in “Money Heist” and Cristián in “Elite” – and the on-the-rise Susana Abaitúa, who delivered a tearaway performance in Netflix rom-com “Crazy About Her.”

Co-created by Alejandro Aménabar co-scribe Alejandro Hernández, “Los Farad” is directed by Mariano Barroso in his fifth collaboration with Hernández.

Emerging as one of Spain’s most notable drama series directors in an age of premium fiction, Barroso has extracted terrific, nuanced performances in series set in Spain’s recent past, such as “The Invisible Line” and “What the Future Holds.

Three titles received €500,000.

Ildikó Enyedi’s Silent Friend is among 29 projects to receive a share of €8.1m in Eurimages’ latest round of co-production funding.

The new feature from Hungarian filmmaker Enyedi, who won Berlin’s Golden Bear for On Body And Soul in 2017, is a co-production between Germany, France and Hungary, and received €500,000 – the largest amount awarded in this round of funding. The film focuses on an ancient tree in the Botanical Gardens of the university town of Marburg to explore the relationship between man and nature.

Scroll down for full list of titles

Two more titles received €500,000: The Captive...

On the surface, there’s very little about either Open Your Eyes or Vanilla Sky that screams Erotic Thriller. Both Alejandro Amenábar’s 1997 Spanish original and Cameron Crowe’s 2001 American remake are frequently classified as psychological thrillers, or even dramas, due to their interest in exploring the downward spiral of the main character.

And yet, upon closer examination, both films owe a heavy debt to the tropes of the Erotic Thriller.

As we’ve previously explored in this editorial series, Erotic Thrillers embody the characteristics of Film Noir, albeit with a more contemporary perspective when it comes to sex and violence. There’s often a healthy dose of voyeurism and fetishism, typically embodied in doubles of characters (usually women). And, naturally, sex and death become intertwined as the desires of characters tend to result in dangerous consequences.

Nearly all of these elements are present in Open Your Eyes and Vanilla Sky.

Spoiler warning: This article openly discusses the full plot of “The Others.”

It’s been said many times that every love story is a ghost story, and the pop art of the 21st century would seem to suggest that the opposite is also true.

The rise of “elevated horror,” the traumafication of genre narratives, and the ever-increasing role that supernatural forces appear to be playing in arthouse fare have combined to recenter the heartsick longing — romantic or otherwise — that has always haunted tales of grief and loss, even if only from the shadows or in the subtext. These days, a movie or TV show about ghosts is less likely to scare you than it is to make you cry, and the ones that manage to do both tend to rely on the former as a means of accomplishing the latter; look no further than the work of Mike Flanagan, whose...

Right from the start, one gets the sense that something’s amiss in Alejandro Amenábar’s The Others. Three servants emerge from the fog that cloaks an estate on the Channel Island of Jersey to apply for jobs we soon learn weren’t yet listed in the local newspaper. Meanwhile, the imposing head of the household, Grace (Nicole Kidman), is perpetually on edge. When she instructs the new help to keep the curtains drawn at all times and always shut and lock every door behind them, it’s unclear whether her neuroses actually stem from the condition that supposedly prevents her two children from being in the sunlight for more than a few seconds or if it’s a calamitous side effect of her rigid Catholic beliefs.

It’s a familiar setup, but The Others doesn’t follow the same path of so many other horror films about women succumbing...

In times of dramatic change for the film-tv industry, Spanish auteur cinema is booming, goosed by multiple significant and high-quality titles, reaping prizes, critical praise and profile at international festivals.

Beyond the preeminent interest in established auteurs such as Pedro Almodóvar, Alejandro Amenábar, J.A. Bayona, Isabel Coixet and Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Spanish sales agents and distributors celebrate the increasingly strong presence of young local film auteurs on the international scene. The big question is, however, how this profile can translate into box office impact and substantial sales.

“We are living a very sweet moment in terms of the recognition of our cinema at international festivals, with ever more filmmakers who are creating dazzling works,” says Luis Renart, founder of Santa Cruz de Tenerife-based sales company Bendita Films.

“There’s a generation of creators and producers who look to international auteur cinema when they build their projects, made with a European sensibility and a very marked identity,...

Our latest Blu-ray round-up is surprisingly horror-heavy this week! With the notable exception of Greta Gerwig's bright, bubbly "Barbie," every other film featured this week is part of the horror genre. Of course, that shouldn't be too surprising — this is spooky season, after all. Below, you'll find looks at not one but two very different haunted house movies, a new horror hit from A24, a vampire box office flop, and, as already mentioned, a trip to Barbieland. So let's dive in, and as always, I urge you to keep spinning those discs! Streaming comes and goes, but physical media is forever.

Read more: Famous Characters Who Never Actually Appear On Screen

Barbie

One of 2023's most delightful surprises, Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" took what could've easily been a soulless piece of junk and spun it into a sweet, heartfelt bit of pop art. Not everything Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach conjure up here works,...

To celebrate the release of The Others in 4K Ultra HD Edition, Blu-ray and DVD on October 2nd we are giving away Blu-Rays to 2 lucky winners!

Studiocanal announce the special release and 4K restoration of one of the most critically acclaimed horror films of the 21st Century, Alejandro Amenábar’s The Others. Starring Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston and Fionnula Flannagan (The Guard), the film opened to both critical and box office success upon original release, winning 8 Goya Awards including Best Film and Best Director, and has since been heralded as one of the best psychological horror films of all time.

The release features new artwork from graphic designer Jonathan Burton as well as a brand new feature length documentary “Looking Back at The Others”, including new interviews with Alejandro Amenábar, producer Fernando Bovaira and stars Nicole Kidman and Christopher Eccleston. They look back on the film and its legacy, over 20 years since its original release.

Films by Carolina Markowicz, Isabel Coixet, Jaione Camborda and Isabel Herguera all have international potential.

Highly anticipated features from Isabel Coixet, Lucía Puenzo and Jaione Camborda are among the buzziest Spanish and Latin American titles screening across all strands of this year’s San Sebastián film festival. Here is a flavour of what festival audiences can expect.

Blondi (Argentina)

Dir: Dolores Fonzi

The debut feature from Argentinian actress Dolores Fonzi plays in the Horizontes Latinos section, which screens premieres entirely or partially produced in Latin America and not yet released in Spain. Fonzi also stars in the film which is...

Frenetic and high-flying ‘90s rock emblem Mauricio Aznar trades his position as enigmatic frontman of Zaragoza’s Más Birras for a journey towards the soul of his craft in Spanish writer-director Javier Macipe’s highly-anticipated second feature, “The Blue Star” (“La Estrella Azul”) saw its world premiere in the New Directors strand of the San Sebastian Film Festival on Monday.

Macipe’s (“Los inconvenientes de no ser dios”) short efforts, 2014 release “Children of the River” and 2019’s “Gastos incluídos,” earned Spanish Academy Goya nominations, placing him among Variety’s 10 Spanish talents to track in 2021.

“The Blue Star,” filmed in Spain’s Zaragoza and Argentina’s Santiago de Estero and Cerro Colorado, Córdoba, poetically delves into Aznar’s introspective journey to Northern Argentina, where music isn’t a mere hobby but resides in the veins, flowing effortlessly alongside lifeblood to enrich the community.

After an encounter with an aging musician – the two,...

To celebrate the special release and 4K restoration of one of the most critically acclaimed horror films of the 21st Century, Alejandro Amenábar’s The Others out 2nd October on 4K Ultra HD Edition, Blu-ray & DVD – we have a 4K Uhd up for grabs!

Starring Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston and Fionnula Flannagan (The Guard), the film opened to both critical and box office success upon original release, winning 8 Goya Awards including Best Film and Best Director, and has since been heralded as one of the best psychological horror films of all time.

Watch the new trailer:

The release features new artwork from graphic designer Jonathan Burton as well as a brand new feature-length documentary “Looking Back at The Others”, including new interviews with Alejandro Amenábar, producer Fernando Bovaira and stars Nicole Kidman and Christopher Eccleston. They look back on the film and its legacy, over 20 years since its original release.

The Netflix film closed this year’s Venice Film Festival.

Ja Bayona’s Society Of The Snow will represent Spain as its submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.

Netflix’s Spanish-language drama closed Venice earlier this month and will also screen at San Sebastian and Sitges festivals.

Based on the real-life plane crash of a Uruguayan rugby team in 1972, Society Of The Snow follows the remaining passenrs as they try to survive in the middle of the Andes. It is produced by Misión de Audaces,

Netflix title All Quiet On The Western Front. won the...

If there’s a prime example of a franchise getting better with every movie, Kenneth Branagh’s Agatha Christie universe is a prime example. Starting in 2017 with the generic “Murder on the Orient Express,” it’s sequel, the 2022 feature “Death on the Nile” was rollicking fun if only for how horny it was in its themes and presentation. But, surprisingly, Branagh followed that up with a dark and somber haunted house story, “A Haunting in Venice” that, if anything, showcases both his impassioned love for Christie’s work and ability to tell a truly spooky film.

Acclaimed detective Hercule Poirot (Branagh) is in a bit of a slump. It’s 1947 and Poirot spends his days avoiding mysteries and eating cake. But things change when his old friend Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey) comes calling, asking Poirot to witness a seance led by psychic medium Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh). Reynolds hopes to...

Sugar Goop.

We kicked off August discussing the ins and outs of the photography industry in the American giallo Eyes of Laura Mars before getting serious with a discussion on the afterlife and religion in queer director Alejandro Amenábar‘s The Others. Now we’re somewhere in between drama and comedy with writer/director Emma Seligman‘s raucous comedy slash anxiety-driven Jewish horror film, Shiva Baby.

In the film, Rachel Sennott stars as Danielle, a young woman who is secretly doing sex work on the side of her College degree. As the film opens, Danielle is meeting with her married lover Max (Danny Deferrari) before heading to a Shiva, a week of Jewish mourning, where she meets her parents Debbie (Polly Draper) and Joel (Fred Melamed).

Danielle’s lies about her financial status and career plans quickly begin to surface when Max arrives with his wife Kim (Dianna Agron) and baby in tow.

Bitch, you dead.

We closed out July with a look at Joshua Grannell’s 2010 campy horror comedy All About Evil, and kicked off July discussing the ins and outs of the photography industry in the American giallo Eyes of Laura Mars. Now we’re getting serious with a discussion on the afterlife and religion in queer director Alejandro Amenábar‘s The Others (which just had a Criterion Blu-Ray announcement).

The Others sees Grace (Nicole Kidman), the devoutly religious mother of Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley), move her family to the English coast during World War II. She awaits word on her missing husband while protecting her children from a rare photosensitivity disease that causes the sun to harm them. Anne claims she sees ghosts, and while Grace initially thinks the new servants are playing tricks on her, chilling events and visions make her believe something supernatural may be occurring.

Ah, The Others, a film that’s as mysterious as that one sock that always goes missing in the laundry. Alejandro Amenábar’s 2001 horror masterpiece is a tale that’s as chilling as it is puzzling. Set in a creaking mansion trapped in a perpetual shroud of fog, this film captivates with its Gothic atmosphere, ominous whispers, and a twist that’s sharper than a vampire stake. But fear not, for we shall dissect the secrets, the shadows, and the final revelation that left audiences both gasping and gawking.

Without further adieu, it’s time to dig up the graves of this ghostly tale and exhume the secrets of its ending.

Grab your shovels, dear readers, and let’s get digging!

A Haunting Prelude

As the opening credits roll, The Others sweeps us into an eerie mansion cloaked in perpetual fog. Nicole Kidman’s portrayal of Grace, a devout mother...

Let’s All Chant.

July wound up being another wild month as Trace and I veered all over the place. From cross-dressing serial killers in Insidious: Chapter 2 and Psycho, to trans representation in Escape Room: Tournament of Champions, to the incredibly queer cast and crew of Peaches Christ’s All About Evil. Now we’re closing out the month with an American Giallo in the John Carpenter-scripted Irvin Kerschner flick Eyes of Laura Mars (1978).

In the film, Faye Dunaway stars as the titular character. Laura Mars is an incredibly successful fashion photographer whose graphic depictions of sex and violence have caused a stir. The attention on her spirals when her photographs are revealed to be mirrors of real life murders and the killer begins targeting her and her friends.

The film features a stacked cast, including Raul Julia, Brad Dourif, René Auberjonois and a baby faced Tommy Lee Jones...

"The haunted house movie that reinvigorated the genre..." StudioCanal UK has revealed their new official trailer for a 4K restoration re-release of the 2001 haunted house thriller The Others. This was released in late 2001, ending up with two BAFTA nominations. During World War II, a woman who lives with her two children on her darkened old family estate in the Channel Islands (Google Maps) becomes convinced that the home is haunted. StudioCanal UK is "thrilled to announce a special release and 4K restoration of one of the most critically acclaimed horror films of the 21st Century, Alejandro Amenábar's The Others. Starring Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston, and Fionnula Flannagan, the film opened to both critical and box office success upon original release, winning 8 Goya Awards including Best Film and Best Director, and has since been heralded as one of the best psychological horror films of all time." The original 35mm negative was scanned in 4K,...

Thriller movies have a knack for delivering unexpected twists that leave audiences stunned and questioning everything they thought they knew. These mind-bending plot turns can redefine the entire narrative, challenge our perceptions, and keep us on the edge of our seats. This article will explore ten exhilarating plot twists in thriller movies that have captivated audiences and left them breathless with their sheer audacity.

1 ‘Fight Club’ (1999)

“Fight Club” (1999): The Unraveling Identity David Fincher‘s “Fight Club” takes us on a dark and twisted journey into the mind of an insomniac office worker named Jack (Edward Norton).

The film’s mind-blowing twist reveals that Jack’s charismatic alter ego, Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), is a projection of his split personality.

Related: Brad Pitt Movies List: Ranked Best to Worst

This revelation shatters our understanding of the story and challenges our perception of reality, making it one of cinematic history’s most memorable plot twists.

The Criterion Collection is celebrating Halloween with a brand new lineup of horror releases this October, and we’ve got the full scoop straight from Criterion’s website.

Coming this October, “three Pre-code chillers from a master of the morbid; a gothic supernatural tale; & a haunting modern-day fable of cultural dislocation in NYC.”

Those films are Freaks, The Unknown and The Mystic, packaged together in Tod Browning’s Sideshow Shockers; The Others (2001); and Nanny (2022). Tod Browning’s Sideshow Shockers will first be added to the Criterion Collection on October 17, followed by Alejandro Amenábar’s The Others on October 24 and Nikyatu Jusu’s Nanny on October 31.

Tod Browning’s Sideshow Shockers:

“The world is a carnival of criminality, corruption, and psychosexual strangeness in the twisted pre-Code shockers of Tod Browning. Early Hollywood’s edgiest auteur, Browning drew on his experiences as a circus performer to create subversive pulp entertainments set amid the world of traveling sideshows,...

The year 2001 was a remarkable year for cinema, with many diverse and innovative films that challenged, entertained, and inspired audiences. It can be considered as one of the best years in film history, with masterpieces from acclaimed directors such as David Lynch, Peter Jackson, Ridley Scott, Steven Soderbergh, and more. From fantasy to thriller, from comedy to drama, from animation to live-action, 2001 had something for everyone. In this article, we will explore some of the best movies of 2001, ranked according to their ratings and reviews. Let’s dive into each film and see what makes them so special.

10. Donnie Darko Donnie Darko Trailer

Donnie Darko is a cult classic that defies easy categorization. It is a dark and surreal tale of a troubled teenager who has visions of a mysterious rabbit named Frank, who tells him that the world will end in 28 days. The film mixes elements of science fiction,...

14 Spanish productions selected for this year’s festival, which runs September 22-30.

Isabel Coixet’s romantic drama Un amor, Isabel Herguera’s animation Sultana’s Dream and JaioneCamborda’s drama The Rye Horn are among the 14 Spanish productions selected for the 2023 San Sebastian International Film Festival (Ssiff), running from September 22-30.

Scroll down for full line-up

Coixet will compete for the first time in San Sebastian’s official section with Un Amor, starring Laia Costa and Hovik Keuchkerian. Sold by Film Constellation, Un Amor is based on Sara Mesa’s novel that follows a woman struggling to start afresh in a countryside hamlet.