Fantasma

Reminiscent of Goodbye Dragon Inn at times, but less spectral and haunting. Alonso is reflecting on his own creation, and even poking fun at himself. He also seems to have a personal relationship with the venue itself. What else is it about? Who knows! It's about space, primarily, and Alonso's skillful use of form and sound is constantly creating interest in and outside the frame. It's an anomaly in his filmography in one sense, and a bridge connecting L.M to Liverpool in another

It is all very minimalist, it looks gorgeous and has a few moments of unexpected humour (and at moments borders on Tatiesque, admittedly even more underplayed though), yet it didn't do much for me. I can't help but compare it to Syndromes and a Century or Letter from Uncle Boonme and it just doesn't do as much for me. It doesn't make me feel and wonder like those films do, but instead I just find myself looking on and thinking how pretty the film is.

It took three attempts to watch this, but it was rewarding. Its a very minimalist film which is yet maximalist if you soak in the environment it is set in, and how the people within it react to it and each other. The only plot point is that the characters end up watching a film with them in it in the middle (the work references Alonso's previous films) but seeing an environment that any of us have had to go through reflected back is of worth the film's creation. All of it together is fantastic.