Variety Critics´ Choice 2002 / En construcción / Spain, France 2001
A highly unusual record of the construction of an apartment block in Barcelona’s El Chino neighbourhood. This is not a documentary in the ordinary sense, but a dexterous compilation of 110 hours of material filmed over a period of eighteen months. In only his fourth film in 18 years, the director provides more than a mere descriptive commentary by presenting his audiences with a truly original film.
As unsung at home as Victor Erice, the helmer to whom he clearly owes a sizable debt, Jose Luís Guerín is one of the more idiosyncratic Spanish talents at work. Built around an idea which looks doomed on paper but which works brilliantly on screen - to record the construction of a building - "Work in Progress" is willfully offbeat but the docu´s potential pretentiousness is beautifully held in check by its warm, embracing humanity. Only Guerín´s fourth pic in 18 years, "Work" is a craftily edited summary of 110 hours of footage recorded over 18 months during the building of an apartment block in Barcelona´s El Chino district. There is no voiceover explaining who the people are, and no one speaks to camera - what they don´t tell us about themselves is as interesting as what they do. Jonathan Holland
125 min / Black & white, 35 mm
Director José Luis Guerín
/ Screenplay José Luis Guerín
/ Dir. of Photography Alex Gaultier
/ Editor Mercedes Alvarez, Núria Esquerra
/ Producer Antoni Camín
/ Production Ovideo TV, s.a.
/ Cast Juana Rodríguez, Iván Guzmán Jímenez, Juan López, Juan Manuel López, Santiago Segade, Abdel Azíz El Mountassir, Antonio Atar
First-hand brews throughout the year.
Be among the first to learn about upcoming events and other news. We only send the newsletter when we have something to say.
