Great Spanish Movies #2

'Radical', 'Alemania' and 'Utama'.

'Radical' (2023)

Director Christopher Zalla may have been born in Kenya, studied in the USA and escaped to Guatemala but his two movies have been shot in Mexico. After his debut won at Sundance, he had personal crisis, and thus it's taken him 16 years to return with his feelgood, inspirational and loveable second feature. 'Radical' is a winner! It's based on a true story but undoubtedly takes comedic liberty. It uses teacher movie stereotypes yet joins the league of 'Lean on Me' etc. because the teacher and principal are great characters. When you need a good mood, push PLAY.

'Alemania' (2023)

Argentinian director Marie Zanetti debuts with 'Alemania' (a.k.a. 'Germany'), which is about a teenager longing to escape family problems by becoming an exchange student. But her parents' are broke, her sister has mental issues, and she's discovering boys. Yes, another coming-of-age tale, but so down-to-earth that it's far from the stereotypical handling of the genre.

'Utama' (2022)

This is a plaintive rural drama of an old couple and their distant village surviving a drought - she seeks water, he herds llama. It's a reach to have given it the Sundance World Cinema Award, but I was happy to experience go slow art, to see the struggle between the old world and the new, and add a Bolivian movie to my 'CV'. Director Alejandro Loayza Grisi deserves a salute.

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