Realistic, in Catalan and increasingly egalitarian: this is the best Catalan cinema of the 21st century

BarcelonaA list like the one from the survey on Catalan cinema among 200 experts, promoted by ARA, is not only useful for awarding or disqualifying medals to films or directors, but also for studying and analyzing the photograph left by the votes. If we take the 25 most voted films as a representative sample, a first conclusion is that this canon of Catalan cinema is moving towards parity. There are nine films directed by women in the top 25 of the list, that is, 36%; but if we only look at the films on this list produced in the last fifteen years, which are those of the great arrival of women in cinema, the percentage of female direction rises to 50%. It is worth noting that among the five most voted films there is only one directed by a woman, and among the ten most voted only three, but this imbalance at the top of the list is compensated, in part, by the significant first position of Summer 1993, directed by Carla Simón.

A great linguistic richness is also observed among the 25 most voted films. Catalan is the predominant language: twelve titles, practically half of the list, are in original Catalan version. In addition, there are two films in original French version, one in English, and ten in original Spanish version; as well as some with a mix of languages, such as The Silence Before Bach (Spanish, German, French, Italian) or Stories from the Good Valley, in which about ten languages are spoken. Another noteworthy feature is the presence of seven opera prima: that almost a third of the list are cinematic debuts reflects the renewal of authorial voices that has occurred during this century. In fact, there are only eight directors in the top 25 who debuted before 2001: the majority have had their entire careers during the 21st century.

The influence of documentary

From the list, the prominence of documentary in Catalan cinema emerges. First, due to the presence in high positions of works like En construcció and De nens, but also due to the influence of documentary language in fiction films like My mexican bretzel – built from an archive of family videos – or in hybrid films between documentary and fiction like La leyenda del tiempo, Els dies que vindran, La plaga or Entre dos aguas. The influx of documentary is also evident in the predominance of naturalism in performances, both in dramatic films like Estiu 1993, Tres dies amb la família, Alcarràs or Estrany riu, and even in experiments of realistic horror like [REC]. If we are to characterize Catalan cinema based on the top 25, we could say that it tends towards realism and documentary, but also leaves room for experimentation and formal research (El silenci abans de Bach, Honor de cavalleria, Pacifiction). The scarce presence of the fantastic genre is surprising, given that Catalonia hosts the most important fantastic film festival in Southern Europe and there is a significant tradition of authors and companies linked to the genre in our country. There isn't much comedy either: Sis dies corrents, scenes from [REC], and that's it. Catalan cinema is a serious matter.

Of course, a list like this can serve to measure the impact of the directors who appear on it. In this regard, it is worth noting that there are five authors with two titles in the top 25: José Luis Guerin, Carla Simón, Mar Coll, Isaki Lacuesta, and Neus Ballús. However, the most ubiquitous figure is Albert Serra, who has four films among the 25 most voted. The fact that four of his seven films are included attests to the influence and importance that Albert Serra's work has gained in contemporary Catalan cinema; and it is no small feat, considering that, for the general public, he is also the most controversial and divisive Catalan filmmaker of the 21st century.