Where have you been?
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Where have you been? |
| Original title | En tu ausencia |
| Country of production | Spain |
| original language | Spanish |
| Publishing year | 2008 |
| length | 99 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Iván Noel |
| script | Iván Noel |
| production | Iván Noel |
| music | Iván Noel |
| camera |
Luis Fernández Caula , Ildefonso Corrochano |
| cut |
Daniel C. Allard , Brandon Donnelly , Guy Ducker , Iván Noel |
| occupation | |
| |
Where have you been? (Original title: En tu ausencia ; Spanish for "In your absence") is a Spanish coming-of-age drama from 2008 by Iván Noel . It is Noel's first film; he was u. a. active as a director, producer and composer.
action
The twelve year old boy Pablo lives alone with his mother in the country. He spends a lot of time with his best friend, fifteen-year-old Julia. One day he meets a strange man whose car breaks down and who introduces himself as Paco. The postman passing by is suspicious of the stranger and advises Pablo not to mess with him because he has something to hide. Nevertheless, Pablo accompanies the man to the village to the mechanic and then to an inn.
Pablo develops a strong bond with Paco and spends a lot of time with the man. It turns out that the man was looking for Pablo's father, with whom he was apparently good friends with in the military. The boy then leads him to the grave of his father, who died a long time ago. Despite Pablo's repeated assurances that his father was a good person, several flashbacks make it clear that the boy often suffered from his father's anger. Only later does the exact circumstances of his death become clear: he fell from the roof after Pablo accidentally pulled the ladder away.
Meanwhile, Julia is under pressure because the postman is supposed to find her a job, but he demands sexual services from her. When Pablo meets again with Julia, who has not escaped his sudden attachment to the stranger, he wants to entertain her with shooting tricks with his father's rifle. Julia, on the other hand, wants to have sex with the boy, whereupon Pablo, however, tries to run away. It becomes clear that he is sexually attracted to Paco. In the village, the inn owner has meanwhile remembered seeing Paco in prison earlier. The postman rapes Julia and later meets Pablo and Paco at a lake, whom he confronts with the story of the inn owner. But Pablo doesn't let himself be unsettled.
After Pablo and Paco leave the lake, three children from the village go swimming there. An accident occurs while playing and one of the children is killed; as the other children deny their guilt, Paco comes under suspicion of murder - mainly through the action of the postman - and angry parents go in search of him. Meanwhile, Pablo discovers the truth about Paco's sudden appearance when he watches the man in bed with his mother: The two military friends were in love with the same woman, and after Pablo's father married her, there was an affair between her and Paco. In addition, Pablo may be Paco's son. With tears at the gunpoint, the boy confronts the man; When the villagers appear, the situation escalates and the postman shoots Paco.
Years later, Pablo and Paco meet again in the framework story.
Creation and publication
Iván Noel had until work on Where have you been? hardly any film experience himself, but worked as a teacher for music and drama. As a studied composer, it was important to him to achieve a perfect harmony of music and image, which is why he started with music for his first film project. He had little money to make the film available and therefore worked almost exclusively with amateur actors. The film crew consisted of only five people, which is why Noel came up with other names for the credits. Most of the scenes were improvised even though Noel had written a script.
The director released the film with English subtitles for free on YouTube and in an extended version with additional French subtitles and bonus material also on DVD. Where have you been? has been shown at several film festivals including Vancouver , Seattle and Palm Springs . In Vancouver, the film was voted fifth out of 200 entries in its category and received several good reviews. Vanguard Cinema then took over DVD sales for North America . In Germany cmv-Laservision released the film on DVD in 2011 with German subtitles.
reception
In the Diario de Jerez , the presentation, which would achieve "a surprisingly naturalistic level", especially with children , was praised; in addition, “the beauty of the camera and the depth of the story” of this “rare example of an almost non-existent Spanish independent cinema” was surprising. Noel films the landscape around Jerez "with the knowledgeable eye of a painter" while demonstrating his "mastery" in "playing with the audience's expectations". This “security”, in connection with a “surprising plot”, the “naturalness” of the amateur actors and an “almost dangerous sensuality” of the camera make the film a “really impressive” debut.
Vivian Hua of the web magazine Redefine Magazine judged that Noel's film exudes more than just one kind of “beauty” and that its setting defines summer in its “absolute perfection”, which means that through “well-coordinated images and varied, atmospheric music” he “both auditory as well as visual enjoyment ”. In Your Absence is driven by "unpredictable human interactions," and the "many little clues" Noel gives about the main characters would keep the "slow" film "bursting with tension". The ending wouldn't disappoint either.
Web links
supporting documents
- ↑ Release certificate for Where have you been? Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , January 2011 (PDF; test number: 126 056 V).
- ↑ Press kit for En tu ausencia. (PDF) Noel Films, pp. 2–5 , accessed on October 7, 2015 (English).
- ↑ Ivan Noel graba su tercer largometraje en el colegio sevillano San Francisco de Paula. In: Noticias Aljarafe. July 7, 2009, archived from the original on December 3, 2013 ; Retrieved October 3, 2015 (Spanish).
- ↑ Vancouver acoge el estreno mundial de la cinta andaluza 'En tu ausencia'. In: Diario de Jerez. Joly Digital, October 8, 2008, accessed on October 7, 2015 : “Esto ha dado como resultado una interpretación que alcanza unos niveles de naturalismo sorprendentes, sobre todo, en el grupo de chavales que soportan la historia… sorprendente es también, la belleza de la cinematografía y la profundidad de la historia, de una cinta que es un raro ejemplo de un cine independiente español casi inexistente… Noel rueda el paisaje que rodea Jerez… con el ojo experto de un pintor, a la vez que muestra su maestría a la hora de jugar con las expectativas del público. Es esta mano firme, junto con una sorprendente narrativa, la naturalidad de las gentes del pueblo en su debú como actores, y la casi peligrosa sensualidad de la cámara, lo que hace de 'En tu ausencia' una verdaderamente impresionante ópera prima. "
- ↑ Vivian Hua: In Your Absence / En Tu Ausencia (2008) Film Review. In: Redefine Magazine. June 11, 2009, accessed on October 7, 2015 (English): “In Your Absence… emanates beauty in more ways than one… The film's backdrop defines“ summer ”in its absolute perfection, and the pairing of fine-tuned imagery and diverse , mood-setting music makes the film both an aural and visual delight ... In Your Absence is a film that is powered by unpredictable human interactions. Noel manages to keep viewers captivated by dropping hints about ... definitive characteristics of the film's three main characters, and this slow reveal keeps a rather slow-paced film brimming with tension ... the most crucial point of In Your Absence lies in its conclusion, and it doesn't disappoint. "