Foremost by Night explained

Native Name:
Nolink:yes
Director:Víctor Iriarte
Cinematography:Pablo Paloma
Editing:Ana Pfaff
Distributor:Atalante

Foremost by Night (Spanish; Castilian: '''Sobre todo de noche'''|links=no) is a 2023 neo-noir melodrama film directed by (in his feature film debut)[1] which stars Lola Dueñas and Ana Torrent alongside Manuel Egozkue. It is a Spanish-Portuguese-French international co-production.

Plot

Exploring the issue of stolen children in Spain, the plot tracks Vera's search for her biological son, given in adoption, thereby coming across Cora and her adoptive son Egoz.[2]

Production

The screenplay was penned by Víctor Iriarte, Isa Campo, and Andrea Queralt.[3] The film was known in early development stages under the provisional title Reescritura. A Spanish-Portuguese-French venture, the film was produced by Atekaleun, CSC Films and La Termita Films alongside Ukbar Filmes and 4A4 Productions, and it had the participation of TVE and TVC and backing from ICAA, the Basque Government, and the Foral Deputation of Gipuzkoa.[4] Shooting locations included the Basque Country, Madrid, Paris, and Portugal.[5]

Release

The film made it to the 'Venice Days' independent slate of the 80th Venice Film Festival,[6] where it was presented on 2 September 2023.[7] It was also selected for screenings in the 'New Directors' competitive section of the 58th Chicago International Film Festival and the main competition section of the 68th Valladolid International Film Festival.[8] [9] Distributed by Atalante, the film was released theatrically in Spain on 1 December 2023.[10] [11]

Reception

According to the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Foremost by Night has a 100% approval rating based on 9 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 7.8/10.[12]

Jonathan Holland of ScreenDaily deemed the film to be a "admirable, well-crafted feature debut" for Iriarte, yet otherwise remarkably lacking in "the human dimension, the emotional undertow".[13]

of Cinemanía rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, deeming it to be a "stimulating, unpredictable, sensitive, painful and hopeful" exercise in which both Dueñas and Torrent shine.[14]

Top ten lists

The film appeared on a number of critics' top ten lists of the best Spanish films of 2023:

Accolades

|-| rowspan = "4" | || 11th Feroz Awards || colspan = "2" | 'Arrebato' Special Award (Fiction) || || |-| rowspan = "3" | 16th Gaudí Awards || Best Original Screenplay || Isa Campo, Andrea Queralt, Víctor Iriarte || || rowspan = "3" | [17] |-| Best Supporting Actress || Ana Torrent || |-| Best Editing || Ana Pfaff || |}

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Giornate degli Autori, i film della ventesima edizione. Cinematografo. 27 July 2023.
  2. Web site: EiTB. 27 July 2023. "Sobre todo de noche", de Víctor Iriarte, competirá en Giornate degli Autore de Venecia.
  3. Web site: Isaki Lacuesta apadrina "Reescritura", debut de Víctor Iriarte, ya en rodaje. Cadena COPE. 7 August 2022.
  4. Web site: Audiovisual451. Víctor Iriarte concluirá en París el rodaje de 'Sobre todo de noche', su primer largometraje. 7 December 2022.
  5. Web site: El cine vasco no pierde fuelle. Deia. 2 January 2023. Harri X.. Fernández.
  6. Web site: Isabelle Huppert Drama, Peter Sarsgaard Spanish Flu Satire, Celine Sciamma Short Set for Venice Days. The Hollywood Reporter. 27 July 2023.
  7. Web site: El fantasma de los bebés robados españoles irrumpe en el Festival de Venecia. La Vanguardia. Astrid. 2 September 2023. Meseguer.
  8. Web site: 'Fallen Leaves', 'About Dry Grasses', 'La Chimera' among Chicago fest international line-up (exclusive). ScreenDaily. 14 September 2023. Jeremy. Kay.
  9. Web site: La Seminci selecciona las nuevas películas de Víctor Iriarte, Oskar Alegria y el Colectivo Negu. Diario Vasco. Grupo Vocento. Itziar. Altuna. 24 August 2023.
  10. Web site: Seminci 2023 'Sobre todo de noche': la historia de un crimen atroz contada deslumbrantemente por Víctor Iriarte. Cinemanía. 20minutos.es. Paula Arantzazu. Ruiz. 23 October 2023.
  11. Web site: En marcha el primer largometraje de Víctor Iriarte, Sobre todo de noche. Cineuropa. 25 July 2022. Alfonso. Rivera.
  12. Web site: Foremost by Night. en . RottenTomatoes. 16 December 2023.
  13. Web site: ScreenDaily. 'Foremost By Night': Venice Review. 2 September 2023. Jonathan. Holland.
  14. Web site: Seminci 2023 'Sobre todo de noche': la historia de un crimen atroz contada deslumbrantemente por Víctor Iriarte. Cinemanía. 20minutos.es. Paula Arantzazu. Ruiz. 23 October 2023.
  15. Web site: Las 10 mejores películas españolas de 2023. El Periódico de Catalunya. Prensa Ibérica. Quim. Casas. 22 December 2023.
  16. Web site: Las 10 mejores películas españolas de 2023: niños robados, sexualidad femenina y monjas, muchas monjas. El Confidencial. Marta. Medina. 21 December 2023.
  17. Web site: Premios Gaudí 2024: Lista completa de los ganadores. La Razón. Jana. Oteo. 5 February 2024.