Rediscovering that cinema feeling
Steven Spielberg, Daniel Craig, Frances McDormand and Tom Cruise are some of the attractions to bring the public back to cinemas severely affected by Covid-19
2019 was the year with the highest number of movie-goers for the entire decade in Spain. However, one of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic has been to empty cinemas, and there is now a need to rediscover the previous positive dynamic and refill them, as far as vaccination, prudence and safety regulations allow. It’s time to get back that old feeling of watching movies on the big screen, and there are several whose release has been delayed due to coronavirus. Hollywood is releasing films from 2020 and 2021 and threatening to take over most cinemas, hopefully not to the detriment of Catalan, Spanish and European film-making. Here, we preview some of the films that will be released in 2021.
No Time to Die
As a major production announced for 2020 and postponed, the new James Bond symbolises the return of film to cinemas. Originally scheduled for April 2, it has now been further delayed until November. Rami Malek, Ralph Fiennes, Léa Seydoux and Ana de Armas accompany Daniel Craig in his latest portrayal of the famous spy. The film is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, creator of True Detective.
West Side story
Following Ready Player One (2018), Steven Spielberg has dared to take on his first musical, an adaptation of the 1957 classic, which was brought to the cinema by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins in 1961. The filmmaker’s virtuoso skills are allied with those of a handful of young actors (Rachel Zegler, Ansel Elgort, Ariana DeBose...) in a film that was finished a year ago and will be released on December 10.
Dune
The Legacy, Blade Runner, and now Dune, a new version of Frank Herbert’s novel already adapted by David Lynch. Canadian Denis Villeneuve confirms his predilection for science fiction with this story boasting a spectacular cast: Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Javier Bardem, Zendaya... It opens on October 1.
Nomadland
Frances McDormand returns to star in a film widely tipped for success in the Oscars, which have themselves been delayed until April 25. A neo-western by American-born Chinese director Chloé Zhao, Nomadland has won the Golden Lion in Venice and many other awards. It is set for release on February 19. McDormand plays a woman who lost everything in the crisis and embarks on a journey west with her van.
El ventre del mar
Twenty years after shooting El Mar in Mallorca, Agustí Villaronga (Pa negre, Incerta glòria) returns to his homeland and literature in this adaptation of a chapter in Alessandro Baricco’s novel Oceano mare. Roger Casamajor and Oskar Kapoya star in a story that is based on real events. The project was initially to be a play but, due to lockdown, has become a film set in the world of theatre.
El buen patrón
The third collaboration between Javier Bardem and Fernando León de Aranoa after Los lunes al sol and Loving Pablo, this acidic comedy was partly shot in Barcelona, with production by Mediapro. The actor plays the manager of a factory that is to receive an award of excellence from the authorities, until everything turns against him.
Black Widow
On May 7, Scarlett Johansson premieres a film starring her Marvel Avengers character, Black Widow, the flagship movie for a handful of superheroes who will help liven up the season: Black Widow, Venom, The Suicide Squad, Spider-Man...
Top Gun: Maverick
Tom Cruise is another actor capable of playing an important role in getting the billboard moving again. On July 2, he releases Top Gun: Maverick, a sequel to his great success as a military pilot, 35 years on. Then on November 9 he will release Mission: Impossible 7, a new film from one of the few sagas that connects with both the general public and critics alike.
cinema