El ser querido

Film history is packed with men who would rather make amends with their loved ones through art than apologise directly. Though fictional, world-renowned filmmaker Esteban Martínez in Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s EL SER QUERIDO—portrayed by a redoubtable, volatile Javier Bardem at his finest—is certainly no exception. Esteban is about to start shooting a historical film on Spanish colonialism in Western Sahara and offers the lead role to his estranged daughter Emilia (Victoria Luengo) over an emotionally fraught lunch. Masterfully choreographed through Sorogoyen’s taut close-ups, their first meeting in thirteen years only gives a first taste of the tensions yet to arise. Resentful yet intrigued, Emilia sees through her father’s scheme and hopes for both a confrontation and an opportunity for professional recognition. Weaving the father-daughter drama into a film-within-a-film framework, the film sets up a complex web of power dynamics informed by transformations both in gender hierarchies and professional relationships on set. While the mise en abyme allows Sorogoyen to experiment with format, texture and colour, his approach remains grounded in the emotions of his characters, however acrimonious and wounded they may be. (Öykü Sofuoğlu)

Rodrigo Sorogoyen: 8 CITAS (2008, KO-REGIE), STOCKHOLM (2013), QUE DIOS NOS PERDONE (2016), MADRE (2017, K), EL REINO (2018), MADRE (2019), AS BESTAS (2022)