The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

a film by John Cassavetes

This 1976 cult film starring Ben Gazzara is unlike any other film by Cassavetes that I’ve seen so far. Then agan, any Cassavetes film that I’ve seen so far is unlike any other Cassavetes film I’ve seen so far.

Daughters of the Dust

a film by Julie Dash
music by John Barnes

Strange, beautiful, confusing and compelling, Daughters of the Dust is quite unlike of any film I’ve seen. I have to confess that I wasn’t quite able to follow its meandering in circles plot, dozing off on acouple of occasions — or maybe more, as on waking up to another déjà vu made me unsure if I was really awake. So more reasons to watch it again.

Viskningar och rop

a film by Ingmar Bergman

How come I never watched Cries and Whispers before? This almost unbearably stylish film centers on four women, gorgeously portrayed by Harriet Andersson, Kari Sylwan, Ingrid Thulin and, of course, Liv Ullmann. On the contary, the men, even David (the great Erland Josephson), are entirely disposable.

As Neves

a film by Sonia Méndez

Kids nowadays.

No, not really. They ain’t any different from us when we were their age. And from our parents, etc. You’ve got your whole life in front of you, and you’re dead bored. Epecially when you are growing up in a rural village in the middle of nowhere, no matter how beautiful. As Neves, for example. So, alcohol, drugs, and sex, if you’re lucky.

Not that the events of this film would be much different if the protagonists were adults. As if grown-ups don’t consume magic mushrooms or engage in revenge porn.

Still, I think that Sonia Méndez was right to shoot a teen drama. The young non-professional actors are utterly convincing and As Neves is worth watching for them alone.

Live music and stuff in Las Palmas and Santander, October 2024

This is what I’ve seen in October:

• 1 October: «Bach & Rameau» @ Casa de Colón, Calle Colón, 1, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  Capilla de Santa Anna featuring Vicent Bru (harpsichord), Yurena Darias (viola da gamba) and Anabel Estévez (Baroque violin). The programme included:
  • Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonata in G major for violin and basso continuo BWV 1021
  • Jean-Philippe Rameau: Pièces de clavecin en concerts: III concert
    La Lapoplinière
    La timide: 1er Rondeau, 2e Rondeau
    Premier tambourin, Deuxième tambourin en Rondeau
  • Bach: Sonata in G major for viola da gamba and harpsichord BWV 1027
    Adagio
    Allegro ma non tanto
    Andante
    Allegro moderato
  • Rameau: Pièces de clavecin en concerts: V concert
    La Forqueray: Fugue
    La Cupis
    La Marais

  

• 3 October: «Trayectoria del polvo VII» @ Casa África, Calle Alfonso XIII, 5
  The opening performance of the Masdanza 2024 festival. Featuring Nshoma Nkwabi (dance, vocal) and Anahi Acuña (violin, vocal); directed by Aïda Colmenero Dïaz. The programme included projection of four short films from the cycle Ella Poema directed and choreographed by Dïaz: Éxodo, Abismo, El Quitador de Miedos and Cicatriz de Luz.

• 3—31 October: Exposición de Acuarelas @ La Casa de la Cultura, Villa de Moya, Gran Canaria
  Watercolours by la Asociación Canaria de Acuarelistas, with a work by Tamara.

  

Goodbye Las Palmas, hello, Santander!

• 11 October: Luca Filastro Trio @ El Centro Botín, Muelle de Albareda, Santander
  An evening of stride jazz featuring Luca Filastro (piano, vocals), Vincenzo Florio (double bass) and Andrea Nunzi (drums).

  

This year, I managed to see all (four) plays of the XIV Festival de Teatro Amateur organised by Federación de Grupos de Teatro Aficionado de Cantabria (FETEACAN). As in other years, it took place at Paraninfo de Las Llamas de la Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo (Avenida de los Castros, 42).

• 19 October: «La Visita»
  A play by Javier García-Mauriño performed by Carpe Diem Teatro (Tomelloso, Ciudad Real); directed by Miguel Ángel Berlanga.

• 20 October: «La Ratonera»
  Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap (with a twist!) performed by Itxartu Antzerki Taldea (Getxo).
• 26 October: «Los locos de Valencia»
  A rather silly farce by Lope de Vega, performed by UGTeatro (Murcia). Directed by David Terol and Mariángeles Rodríguez.

• 27 October: «Pluto. Dios de la riqueza»
  A comedy by Aristophanes, performed by Teatro Kumen (Asturias). Directed by José Ramon López Menéndez.

  

More exhibitions in Santander:

• 11 May — 20 October: «Silvia Bächli: Partitura» @ El Centro Botín, Santander
  Works by Silvia Bächli (1956, Baden, Switzerland).

  

• 5 October 2024 — 9 March 2025: «Shimabuku: Pulpo, cítrico, humano» @ El Centro Botín
  Works by Shimabuku (1969, Kobe, Japan).

  

• 10 October — 7 November: «Colores del mundo» @ Plaza Porticada
  Open-air exhibition of large-format images from the National Geographic archives.

  

• 11 October — 7 December 2024: «De Orallo a Okuda: un diálogo intergeneracional» @ Balta Gallery, Calle Lope de Vega, 29
  Works by Roberto Orallo and Óscar San Miguel aka Okuda.

  

And that was it for October.

Still Alice

a film by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland

This powerful and touching drama was shown in Filmoteca de Cantabria Mario Camus as a part of III Jornada de Cine y Enfermedad Avanzada organised by the Hospital Santa Clotilde. I loved most of it, bar the predictably embarrassing finale of Chekhov’s Three Sisters (really, why?!). Starring Julianne Moore in her Oscar-winning role, Alec Baldwin and Kristen Stewart.

A Child Is Waiting

a film by John Cassavetes

This woefully underrated 1963 masterpiece, inexplicably rendered in Spanish as Ángeles sin paraíso, was screened as a part of the cycle Puntos de fuga. Starring Burt Lancaster, Judy Garland, Gena Rowlands, Steven Hill and Bruce Ritchey as Reuben.