Official Competition (2022)

“A film isn’t an affirmation, an answer to a question. Just as art doesn’t refer to something, but is a thing itself.”

An old wealthy man, faced with his looming mortality, hires a famed director (Penélope Cruz) to produce a film that will live on as his legacy. The famous director hires a prestigious actor (Oscar Martínez) and a movie star (Antonio Banderas) to play the leads. As everyone and their egos battle for relevance, the vanity and absurdity of art itself is revealed!

This is the latest offering from Argentinian artist duo Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn. The comedy explores all the ways that art is incredibly pretentious and classist, while still telling some very human stories. I loved all of these performances — Banderas and Martínez play exaggerations, caricatures, of themselves as they mock their own profession, and Cruz is an absolute powerhouse as the larger than life director. As someone who really enjoys both experiencing art AND mocking art, I thought this film struck the perfect satirical tone. I’d really love to know what true stories were inspirations for some of these scenes. Like, that gossip is juicy and I WANT IT.
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