"El Planeta" -- Movie Review

On the opening night of the New Directors/New Films festival, I viewed “El Planeta”, the new comedy-drama from Spain. 

Synopsis

When a mother and her grown daughter find themselves in financial straits, how long can they maintain their scheming in order to keep up a certain lifestyle?

Story

Gijon, Spain is a rainy seaside town in the northwestern part of the country.  After her divorce, Maria (Ale Ulman) remains there with her daughter Leo (Amalia Ulman) – in a flat neither one of them can afford.  Leo is a student who very occasionally picks up odd jobs – one day, she may get a gig where she works as a stylist for Christina Aguilera or in a worst case, offering sexual services in exchange for financial remuneration.  Her mother Maria, on the other hand, is getting stiffed on the alimony she’s due.  Without the means to afford a lawyer, she is unable to sue her ex-husband and without a sufficient work history, she doesn’t qualify for public assistance.   

All of that being said, none of this stops either one of them from living above and beyond their means – a lifestyle they both feel they deserve.  Maria is getting by on credit cards she knows she will never be able to pay off – and when she can’t use her credit cards, shoplifting always seems to be a viable alternative (even if she does get caught every now and then).  Leo is able to connive friends and potential boyfriends into paying for luxurious meals at high-end restaurants.  She seems to have learned well from her mother.

Before too long, things get out of hand – having been delinquent on the utility bills, the electricity is shut off.  The two women have to live by candlelight and cooking at home is now completely out of the question.  They now have to depend on the kindness of acquaintances for their meals.  Not one to let a minor setback get her down, Maria invites Leo to go shopping at the mall using credit cards to their limit, knowing the bills will go ignored.  While now having a nice upgrade to their wardrobe, this eventually comes to a halt when the authorities come looking for Maria.  Will she be able to talk her way out of this?  And what will become of Leo? 

Review

On some level, “El Planeta” is a fun film to watch because it is almost documentary-like in the sense that you get a glimpse into the life of these two women who, to some degree, are dependent on each other – at least from an emotional support standpoint.  This documentary-like quality has its drawbacks, however – it’s entirely episodic.  There is no plot to speak of and you feel that the movie is merely meandering – it is lacking any degree of dramatic momentum the drives the story forward to a conclusion (largely because there is no story to speak of).  It has no traditional beginning-middle-end and begs the question, “Why am I watching this?”. 

From a technical standpoint, there are some highlights.  First of all, “El Planeta” is shot in black and white; this is very reminiscent of much of the early work of Jim Jarmusch, especially given that this film is largely based on its deadpan-style humor.  Another positive point to report is that it’s a Spanish movie with English subtitles – which are in yellow, making them easier to read.  One might assume the choice to put them in yellow was based on the fact that the motion picture is in black and white.  Whatever the reason, it’s good to see that at least some filmmakers are going this route.  The weird thing, though, is that there are some scenes were English is spoken and the subtitles are still implemented (in English)!

Following the screening, there was an interview with the film’s star and director, Amalia Ulman.  She is originally from Gijon, Spain and said that her memory of it is that despite the fact that it is seaside, it is not a particularly touristy spot – instead, it tends to be more industrialized and has a good deal of factories.  The story, she said, is about the various transactional relationships the two women have in their life.  Due to their situation, they see these relationships as coming from a point of desperation – they need these relationships in order to eat.  As a result, they view all of their relationships as transactional – they view them asking, “What can this do for me?”