Amalia Ulman – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

MOVIE OF THE WEEK September 24, 2021: EL PLANETA

September 19, 2021September 25, 2021 Jennifer Merin Ale Ulman, Amalia Ulman, betsy bozdech, El Planeta, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, loren king, Marilyn Ferdinand., motw, Movie of the Week, Pam Grady, susan wloszczyna, Zhou Chen

Part Grey Gardens, part Kajillionaire, and part Paper Moon, writer/director Amalia Ulman’s feature directorial debut, El Planeta, is also wholly its own beast. The film is a naturalistic, observational dramedy about a mother and daughter in Gijon, Spain, who find themselves facing impending eviction and doing whatever they need to in order to get by. Filmed in expressive black and white, El Planeta is a thoughtful, slice-of-life character study.

Reviews

EL PLANETA – Review by Susan Wloszczyna

September 13, 2021September 18, 2021 Susan Wloszczyna Ale Ulman, Amalia Ulman, El Planeta, motw, Movie of the Week

El Planeta is a pleasantly quirky amuse bouche of a dark comedy shot in black and white that takes place in post-recession Spain. First-time feature director and writer Amalia Ulman and her real-life mother Ale, star as daughter Leo and matriarch Maria, who are living on borrowed time in a small apartment that they no longer can afford.

Festivals Reviews

EL PLANETA (MIFF2021) – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

August 10, 2021August 15, 2021 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas Ale Ulman, Amalia Ulman, El Planeta, melbourne international film festival, miff, Nacho Vigalondo

Playing a vaguely fictionalized version of herself alongside a similarly quasi-autobiographical performance by her own mother, US-based Argentine-born director, writer and actor Amalia Ulman’s El Planeta is a charming lo-fi feminist comedy about a mother-and-daughter grifting duo. El Planeta is refreshingly original in its rethinking of the grifter film, adding humor but never it sacrificing its humanity.