Madre

"Write, create, make a film. Making a story in the language of film is an arduous, long, and sometimes unbearable task. Full of deviations along the way. It's a tiring, fascinating, often revealing adventure. We think that the most important thing is the final product, the alloy of images and sounds presented to the viewer and condensed into a hundred minutes or so. But all of us, professionals in the field, know that it is the path we take during the process that matters most. "Rodrigo Sorogoyen

Virtuoso seems to be the word that best characterizes Rodrigo Sorogoyen's new film (8 Citas (2008), Stockholm (2013), Que Dios nos perdone (2016), El Reino (2018)), both in terms of such perfect direction and the desire to offer an original and surprising screenplay, which he co-wrote with Isabel Peña. Everything here is a question of rhythm and nothing seems to be left to chance, as much from the point of view of wanting to approach the theme of mourning and penance in an original way as from the point of view of delivering a bewitching and simply beautiful feminine portrait. As such, the Orizzonti Best Actress Award for actress Marta Nieto is well deserved, as her character haunts the film with her strength, femininity and fragility.

The first long sequence shot of the film revisits the short film of the same name by the same director with also Marta Nieto in the same role. It has all the strength of a harrowing thriller (Roman Polanski's Frantic comes to mind) and could have been indicative of the direction of the story that will unfold before our eyes, yet the screenplay takes real pleasure in blurring the lines and it's no coincidence that ten years separate this introductory scene from the body of the film. We find this mother working on the beach where her son was kidnapped. She is the manager of a beach restaurant and has started a new life with a new man. One suspects that her search has been in vain and has never been able to find her son and thus haunts by her presence this place that has changed her life forever. When this mother goes to meet a young teenager who looks like her son, she tries to create a bond with him and thus tries to reconstruct herself psychologically.

The reason Madre is a masterpiece from the moment it is discovered is that director Rodrigo Sorogoyen is constantly playing with different genres of film, whether it be social drama, psychological thriller or, in a way, romance. As a result, the film's script is at no time predictable and above all shows the director's desire to create a real atmosphere that is as bewitching as it is disturbing. Actress Marta Nieto brings to life a fascinating character with destructive and borderline behavior (some scenes in the film are along these lines). In the same way, director Rodrigo Sorogoyen makes perfect use of the music of composer Olivier Arson to reinforce the dramatic scenes of the film.

At a time when current cinema tends too often to be too mechanical and cruelly lacks originality, Madre not only comes as an excellent surprise, but above all, imposes Rodrigo Sorogoyen undoubtedly as one of today's best directors. We are now looking forward to his new film...

Mother (Madre)
Directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen
Produced by María del Puy Alvarado, Ibón Cormenzana, Ignasi Estape, Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Thomas Pibarot, Jean Labadie, Anne-Laure Labadie, Jérôme Vidal
Based on a screenplay by Isabel Peña and Rodrigo Sorogoyen...
Starring Marta Nieto, Jules Porier, Alex Brendemühl , Anne Consigny, Frédéric Pierrot, Guillaume Arnault , Álvaro Balas, Blanca Apilánez Alexandre Pagani
Cinematography : Alejandro de Pablo
Edited by Alberto del Campo
Music: Olivier Arson
Production: Amalur Films, Noodles Production, Le Pacte, Arcadia Motion Pictures, Noodles
Coproduction: Movistar +, Canal+ / Vincent Flouret, Radio Televisión Española (RTVE)
Distribution: Le Pacte (France)

Seen on 15 July 2020 at Club 13

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