Film No. 37. THE MOVIE TELLER (LA CONTRADORA DE PELICULAS) The Palace Spanish FF (2024). 16th June.

 

Film No. 37 (2024) June 16th.  3:20 PM  LUNA CINEMA, Cinema 1,  Leederville.

"Artists are like fireflies, they have a light that makes them shine" (Maria's mother expresses an emotion to sum up her love of movies, as she strives to escape the drab world she lives in).

 NOMINEE: Official Selection (Lone Scherfig) Toronto Int FF 2024.         WINNER: Best Feature Film (Lone Scherfig) Valladolid IFF 2024.

Does a film like LA CONTADORA DE PELICULAS (THE MOVIE TELLER) prick our conscience about a need to quench a thirst for Chilean cinema? Yes, definitely, and thank goodness for foreign film festivals in English speaking countries. 

Lone Scherfig is Danish, and here she is creating a South American story. THEIR FINEST and AN EDUCATION were both excellent British stories told by her, and TELLER is proof that she captures universal stories. Young Maria (Alondra Valenzuela) starts us on this nostalgic journey through life in a grim mining town, where Sundays at the movies melds her family together. The uniqueness of this dynamic is the reason the film's first half is so superior to the second. The whole journey is worth it, never the less. 

Are there shades of CINEMA PARADISO here? A little, but ultimately TELLER tries to explore multiple themes. The handsomeness of the film is  diminished somewhat by the inclusion of characters extraneous to the real story; Maria and her coming of age. It's a  worthwhile watch, never the less!  9GUMS.