Red-Headed Woman

a film by Jack Conway

Starring amazing Jean Harlow as the home-wrecking, gold-digging titular redhead, complete with a host of other stereotypes, this pre-Code comedy will make you laugh, cringe, or both at the same time.

Gagarine

a film by Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh

Yuri (Alséni Bathily), together with his friends Diana (Lyna Khoudri) and Houssam (Jamil McCraven), are trying to save their home, Cité Gagarine, from demolition. A heartwarming debut feature by Liatard and Trouilh, also starring Finnegan Oldfield as Dali. Watch it.

A beautiful theme song, Ya Tara by Amine Bouhafa, is performed by Lena Chamamyan.

Madame X — Eine absolute Herrscherin

a film by Tabea Blumenschein and Ulrike Ottinger

There are only two user reviews of this absurdist comedy on IMDb: one reviewer gave Madame X nothing, another 10/10. I found the opening collection of Pythonesque sketches the most entertaining. At 147 minutes, however, it’s way too long and repetitive for the message. In the version screened at Filmoteca, the German dialogue was subtitled while the English one was not; no wonder some people have left half-way through. Then again, when it’s cold and wet outside, I can think of worse options than sitting in a warm cinema, wondering what a lesbian pirate ship’s weird crew will do next.

Safe in Hell

a film by William Wellman

An engaging pre-Code tragicomedy screened as part of the cycle Puntos de fuga.

Gilda (Dorothy Mackaill) arrives to a hotel run by Leonie (Nina Mae McKinney) and inhabited by a motley crew of international lowlifes. Quite an agreeable bunch, I say.

Live music and stuff in Las Palmas and Santander, October 2023

The first half of October I was doing a course in the afternoon, so missed all the events in Las Palmas — except one, and only thanks to a public holiday.

• 12 October: Masdanza Showcase @ Museo Castillo de Mata, Calle Domingo Guerra del Río, 147, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  Five modern dance performances:

  Acerina Toledo (creator and dancers), Lanzarote: Flores Negras Michela Priuli (creator), Barbara Allegrezza & Nicolò Castagni (dancers), Milan: Roots Arnau Pérez de la Fuente (creator and dancer), Barcelona: Single Fairul Zahid (creator), Evangeline Koo & Tay Mei Xuan Jocelyn (dancers), Singapore: Sopan Cecilia Bartolino & Carlos Aller (creators and dancers), Berlin: Saudade de Ti

Forward to Santander. The death of Vicente González Marcos, better known as Marcos Rvbicón, on 26 May of this year, left a gaping hole in the city’s music scene. Rvbicón has been closed ever since. I didn’t go to any jazz concert this month, not that there were many.

• 15 October: Mira cómo me siento @ Paraninfo de Las Llamas de la Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo (UIMP), Avenida de los Castros, 42, Santander
  Written and directed by Juan Carlos Martínez de La Fuente and performed by Irónico Teatro (Gijón, Asturias), Mira cómo me siento was the only play of the 13^th Festival de Teatro Amateur that I was able to see this year. Featuring Juan Carlos Martínez de La Fuente, Ana García, Marta Sureda, Verónica Araoz, Cristina Fernández, Virginia Herrero, Marisa F. Melcón, Nona de Pedro, Orlando Piñera and Isabel Cuéllar.

• 21 October: Ines Pardo Rivas & Roots Syndicate @ Biblioteca Central de Cantabria, Calle Ruiz de Alda, 19
  Cantabrian reggae!

  

• 29 October: La Caja del Fuego @ Albarrio Bar, Calle Juan José Pérez del Molino, 30 Bajo
  A dynamic duo from Mendoza, Argentina, plus some musicians who happened to be there during the lunchtime.

• 30 October: Sara Correia @ Teatro CASYC, Calle Tantín, 25
  Beautiful new fado by Sara Correia accompanied by Diogo Clemente (Spanish guitar), Ângelo Freire (Portuguese guitar) and Frederico Gato (bass guitar). A completely unplugged encore was the cherry on top. A part of the cycle Excéntricos 2023.

  

All performances I attended were free except the concert of Sara Correia (€5), which is practically free. Happy Halloween Everybody!

Fumer fait tousser

a film by Quentin Dupieux

Five superheroes with chemical superpowers go on a retreat where they sit around campfire telling scary stories. Another day, a barracuda joins in... This black superhero comedy (in a sense, it’s a superhero comedy which is also a black comedy, plus one of the heroes is a Black superhero) is definitely not for the squeamish. Weird, crazy, silly stuff. It flopped at the box office: a good start to become a cult classic.

Dispararon al pianista

a film by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal

From the creators of Chico & Rita, this animated almost-documentary follows the trail of hitherto unknown to me Brazilian jazz pianist Tenório Jr. who mysteriously disappeared in 1976.

I found They Shot the Piano Player uneven, often repetitive and at times frustrating. In addition, the version I saw in Los Ángeles was dubbed. Although the film is Spanish, its original soundtrack is mostly not. So when they say “starring Jeff Goldblum” and “interviews with Gilberto Gil, João Gilberto, Vinicius de Moraes, Milton Nascimento, Caetano Veloso” etc. etc. and after that you don’t hear their voices, you’re bound to be disappointed.

On a more positive note, I’ve discovered a new name. And the music is great throughout.