The best director, the best actors, the best idea?|Sep. 04, 2021|Argentina|114 Min.|R
Genre: Comedy;Drama
Description: Official Competition is a 2021 comedy film directed by Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn, with a script written by Duprat, Cohn, and Andrés Duprat. The movie features Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, and Oscar Martínez in leading roles. The story revolves around Humberto Suárez, an elderly millionaire who, on his 80th birthday, decides to finance a film to secure a positive legacy. He appoints the reclusive Palme d’Or-winning director Lola Cuevas to helm the project, which is based on a Nobel Prize-winning novel titled “Rivalry.” The novel tells the story of a man struggling to forgive his brother for causing their parents’ death in a drunk-driving accident.
The two brothers are portrayed by Iván Torres, a method actor deeply immersed in his character’s backstory, and Félix Rivero, a more conventional Hollywood actor dismissive of Iván’s approach. Lola, the director, proves to be highly unconventional, often employing bizarre techniques to elicit authentic performances. These include making the actors repeat lines endlessly, skipping rehearsals, and even suspending a massive boulder over their heads to heighten tension during a scene.
In one particularly striking rehearsal, Lola ties Iván and Félix to chairs and destroys their awards in an industrial shredder, including a handmade one given to Iván by students from a disabled school. During the production, Félix reveals he has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and hopes the film will be his final masterpiece. Iván privately suggests he could take over both roles if Félix becomes unable to continue. However, Félix later confesses his diagnosis was fabricated to test his acting skills. Iván praises Félix’s performance, only to reveal his own deceit as a form of retaliation.
Cast director: Gastón Duprat
Cast actor: Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Oscar Martínez, José Luis Gómez, Manolo Solo, Nagore Aranburu, Irene Escolar, Pilar Castro, Koldo Olabarri, Juan Grandinetti
Original name: Competencia oficial