San Sebastian 2005

"Tideland", by Terry Gilliam

The Basque city of Donostia — San Sebastian hosts one of the major European festivals, known for its interest in the cinemas of the Spanish-Portuguese world, and for its wonderful retrospectives (this year dedicated to Robert Wise, to Abel Ferrara, and to the theme "Rebellious and Untamed"). The festival hosts our "Grand Prix", which was, at the opening ceremony, presented to the Korean filmmaker Kim Ki-duk Our jury focused on the international competition and found Terry Gilliam's Tideland to be the best film of the selection — a decision which provoked controversial reactions. Details of the prize

Reports

Alice in "Nightmareland". Sergi Sánchez explores the innocent-monstrous imagination of Terry Gilliam, whose latest head-trip took the FIPRESCI prize at San Sebastian.
Good Times: Spanish and Latin American Films. An overview of the festival's many Spanish and Latin American entries by Wolfgang Martin Hamdorf.
A French Affair. Julio Feo Zarandieta admires the festival's French entries, which are a mixture of "intimate human drama, stellar performances, and the skilful directing of actors".
New Dramatic Structures. Andrei Plakhov sees the Spanish productions Sud express and Hard Times (Malas temporadas), as well as the Czech film Something like Happiness (Stestí), carrying on the tradition of "new dramatic structure" that American independent classics' such as Pulp Fiction and Mystery Train brought to the fore. Read more.
One Foot in the Grave. Another film in which dark meets light: "a half-comedy half-tragedy ... that looks at the dark and bitter side of meaningless provincial life in today's Eastern Europe's" writes Massimo Causo of Jan Cvitkovič's Gravehopping.

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