settima

Spain

Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie [The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie] (Luis Buñuel, 1972)

Feb

16

No One Eats Alone Day

Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie (1972)

The diners at a long table. DP: Edmond Richard.

People eat dinner together on No One Eats Alone Day*

“My God. What am I doing in this place?”

– Henri Sénéchal

The bourgeoisie meet for dinner in various settings, but never consume.

 

* this event takes place on the Friday of the second full week in February, which makes the 2025 date February 14.

Accidente 703 [Los culpables] (José María Forqué, 1962)

Dec

21

Accidente 703 (1962)

A darkened room. People take care of a man slumped on a coach. A wall calendar tells us it's the 21st. DP: Juan Mariné.

20 de noviembre de 1936 ¿Te acuerdas de esta fecha, compañero? [20th of November] (1937)

Nov

20

1936

20 de noviembre de 1936 ¿Te acuerdas de esta fecha, compañero? (1937)

Soldiers in silhouette. Disclaimer: I am not 100% sure this still is from the correct film. DP: anonymous.

A documentary made by the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo in honour of anarchist Buenaventura Durruti, who was murdered on November 20, 1936.

“Fascism is not to be debated, it is to be destroyed.”

– Buenaventura Durruti

Pensione paura [Hotel Fear] (Francesco Barilli, 1978)

Oct

18

wartime soup

Pensione paura (1978)

Rosa (Leonora Fani) prepares soup for two of the hotel guests. DP: Gualtiero Manozzi.

La notte dei diavoli [The Night of the Devils] (Giorgio Ferroni, 1972)

Oct

12

soup

La notte dei diavoli (1972)

The two children (Cinzia De Carolis on the right) eat soup and giggle. Some parsley is stuck to the left child's mouth. DP: Manuel Berenguer.

El verdugo [The Executioner] (Luis García Berlanga, 1963)

Jan

31

stale bread

El verdugo (1963)

A closeup of man's hands crumbling bread over a small bowl placed next to a newspaper with keys on top of it. The man has a wool blanket over his shoulders. DP: Tonino Delli Colli.

“Father, we just ate!”

Beatriz (Gonzalo Suárez, 1976)

Oct

5

soup

Beatriz (1976)

Basilisa (Nadiuska) holds up a terrine for Juan (Óscar Martín), who scoops the soup into his bowl. The bowl is the top of three the small boy has towering in front of him. DP: Carlos Suárez.

La caza [The Hunt] (Carlos Saura, 1966)

Sep

23

International Rabbit Day

La caza (1966)

One of the hunters, seen from the back, aims for a wild rabbit. When you look closely you can see the animal leap just out of frame. DP: Luis Cuadrado.

El espíritu de la colmena [The Spirit of the Beehive] (Víctor Erice, 1973)

Sep

3

National Cinema Day

El espíritu de la colmena (1973)

Ana (Ana Torrent) watching James Whale's Frankenstein (1931). DP: Luis Cuadrado.

One day, in a quiet village, a traveling movie theatre appears. The proprietor has no words for the miracle he brings in on the reels. When it's finally time, and the whole town is crammed into the crumbling impromptu playhouse, and the lights are dimmed, a word of warning. This is the story of Dr. #Frankenstein, it starts.

“Just close your eyes and call him… It's me, Ana… It's me Ana…”

– Teresa

The old folk in the audience remember their first brush with cinema, and life, and death. For sisters Ana (Ana Torrent) and Isabel (Isabel Tellería) it may be their first, and it may as well be real. The creature, Isabel assures her younger sister, is not dead. He's a spirit and you can call for him.

 

When you're little, everything is a miracle. Milagros is the name the maid answers too. And so does the landscape, the mushrooms, the heart, and the magic of cinema.

El espíritu de la colmena [The Spirit of the Beehive] (Víctor Erice, 1973)

Aug

30

mushrooms

El espíritu de la colmena (1973)

Little Ana (Ana Torrent) all but disappearing behind a for her almost too large ceramic bowl. DP: Luis Cuadrado.

It's August 30, #Frankenstein​day.

“If you're not sure a mushroom's good, don't pick it. Because if it's bad, and you eat it, it's your last mushroom and your last everything too.”