23/10/2007

Screening in competition at the RomeFilmFest, Ventura Pons’ 19th feature, Barcelona (A Map), is a character study that carefully maps out various aspects of the human condition (from loneliness and pregnancy to cross-dressing and incest).

Taking place over the course of one long evening, elderly husband and wife Ramon (José María Pou) and Rosa (Núria Espert) tell their three tenants – an aging French teacher (Rosa Maria Sardà), a lonely security guard (Pablo Derqui) and a pregnant Argentinean immigrant (María Botto) – that they must vacate their rooms because Ramon is terminally ill and they want the house to themselves.

An adaptation by Pons of Catalan playwright Lluisa Cunillé’s play Barcelona, a Map of Shadows, the film moves in and out of the shadows of secrets that the characters will eventually reveal, and is framed by opening sequences of General Franco quelling the separatist Catalan movement during a fascist gathering on the streets of Barcelona.

Although unclear as to why he chose precisely that archival footage – Pons only briefly mentioned his Catalan nationalist sentiment, which was somewhat contested by Derqui – the director did say that the images of Franco were meant to show that “the wounds of that era still have an impact today. People who lived through 40 years of dictatorship had to pay attention to what they said out loud, so there were many secrets and it was normal for no one to be themselves.”

While this chiaroscuro map may lead to a rather dissatisfying destination, stage and screen veterans Pou, Espert and Sardà dominate a more than solid cast and the story’s claustrophobic repression is further captured by Mario Montero’s photography and Bel·lo Torras’ production design.

Produced by Pons of Els Films de la Rambla, Barcelona was released in Spain by Filmax on October 19 and is being handled internationally by Madrid-based Latido (Latin Beat).