Spain’s International Feature Oscar entry Saturn Return centers on real-life Granada indie rock group Los Planetas. However, says director Isaki Lacuesta during Deadline’s Contenders Film: International event, “It’s not a classical biopic. We didn’t want to make a monument.”
In the late 1990s, Los Planetas found itself at a delicate moment in the band’s then-young career. In Saturn Return, they’re about to record a make-or-break third album, both on the brink of success or total destruction. The film takes viewers on a journey that delves into the “legend of Los Planetas,” as a title card reads. Explained Lacuesta, “It’s a drama, but it’s also a comedy. It’s a love story, it’s a film about teamwork, it’s a Star Wars film, it’s a vampire film …”
It’s also very subjective, which was the aim from the get-go, on the one hand because “each member of the band has a different idea about what happened, and it’s the same around Granada — everybody in Granada and even in Spain has a different interpretation about what happened. … We like this idea of a film discussing with itself. … The proposal was to let the audience choose what they prefer to believe,” Lacuesta continued.
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Los Planetas is strongly identified with Granada, which producer Cristóbal García called “a very social and cultural city for all of us.”
He noted that they chose Los Planetas because it’s one of the most important bands in alternative music, but that the aim was mainly “to make an homage to the music and a generation and a city and friendship.” Lacuesta added that Granada was to Spain in the 1990s what Seattle was to the U.S. But at the same time, Granada “has a cultural heritage that comes from 1,000 years ago and there is a tradition of poetry … and of course the Flamenco music; all these precedents are very important to the creation of Los Planetas and for our films.”
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Saturn Return is something of a departure for Spain’s Oscar selection committee. Lacuesta commented he feels very grateful, “It’s the choice of our colleagues.” He also thinks they chose “a different film because they have discovered that the Hollywood Academy is not as classical as people used to think. This idea that people in Hollywood are still thinking about David Lean and Lawrence of Arabia, everything has obviously changed.
“We have seen the Academy giving prizes to new and fresh films. … Everybody’s looking for fresh bread and surprises.”
Check back Monday for the panel video.
The post ‘Saturn Return’ Filmmakers On Why Spain’s Oscar Entry About Indie Rockers Los Planetas Is Not A Biopic – Contenders International appeared first on Deadline.
