Day 5 at Seminci: Small Moments, Big Feelings
Covering film festivals is like speed-dating with cinema: you fall for a few, raise an eyebrow at others, and politely move on. Day five at Valladolid delivered a handful of intimate pieces — some stayed with me, some felt like they needed one more draft.
We Are All Strangers — Anthony Chen
This one is pure domestic atmosphere. Chen serves up a slow-brew character drama that pulls you into someone else’s everyday life until you start to feel like part of the household. It’s long — roughly two-and-a-half hours — but it uses that time to build a comforting, bittersweet rhythm rather than spectacle.
There’s a warm, lived-in texture to the film: small routines, quiet consequences, and the kind of naturalistic acting that makes you forget you’re watching actors. Not flashy. Not showy. Just steady, human stuff that lingers after the credits.
I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming — Isabelle Stever & Anna Melikova
This film aims high by trying to weave personal identity with larger political events, but the mix doesn’t always land. The queer themes are present and sincere, while the backdrop of conflict feels tacked on and underexplored. Instead of enriching each other, the two strands sometimes end up competing for attention.
The pacing can feel repetitive — like a single provocative idea stretched to feature length — which keeps the movie from achieving the depth it seems to want. Ambitious, for sure, but it could’ve used sharper focus and more context to make the emotional and political pieces click together.
Talent for Killing — Anton Corbijn
Think literary noir with a crime at its core. The film flirts with classic suspense tropes and the shadowy world of obsession and duplicity. Corbijn proves himself a solid craftsman: the moods are right and the visuals have bite.
Where it trips up is in fully embracing the film’s playful, insidious potential. It feels competent and enjoyable in moments, but there’s a nagging sense that it could’ve been bolder or more mischievous — the kind of twisty, unforgettable thing that lingers in your head.
The Fortunate Islands — Helena Girón & Samuel M. Delgado
This one lands as the most anemic of the bunch. The film plays like a prolonged anecdote: pleasant enough on the surface but lacking the deeper stakes or curiosity that would make it matter beyond its runtime.
The setting is stark, and the tone is resigned, which might be intentional. Still, the result is a short feature that rarely invites you in — more of a quiet, aimless stroll than a film with momentum or purpose.
Final Takeaway
Day five at Seminci served up quietly powerful slices of life, a movie trying to do too much at once, a noir that nearly sings, and a sleepy island piece. In other words: a bit of everything — the kind of lineup that reminds you why festivals are fun. Stay tuned — there’s more from Valladolid coming soon.