Nacho A. Villar and Luis Rojo direct ‘La mala familia’, the story of some kids who look at their past with suspicion and at the future with uncertainty.
Since the film ‘Under construction’ by José Luis Guerín in 2001 established certain bases of the so-called Creation Documentary, Spanish cinema has not stopped approaching reality from an impure perspective, embracing the forms of fiction : the dramatic arcs, the ellipses, the invisibility of the device-camera… Following in the wake of Jean Rouch, Isaki Lacuesta, in the diptych formed by ‘La leyenda del tiempo’ (2006) and ‘Between two waters’ (2018), demonstrated that it was possible to make a docufiction “with” or “with” some people, instead of “about” some individuals turned into characters. This collaborative utopia was later taken up by young directors such as Adrián Orr and Manuel Muñoz Rivas in titles such as ‘Niñato’ and ‘El mar nos mira de afar’, both from 2017.
All this creative legacy exudes in the images of ‘La mala familia’, directed by the duo formed by Nacho A. Villar and Luis Rojo, members of the audiovisual collective BRBR, responsible for video clips for C. Tangana or Territoire. The film adopts this observational perspective and verite –with the camera surrounding the characters without actually interfering in their interactions– to capture the fraternal spirit that circulates among a group of young people who, from the margins of society, bear a sword of Damocles in the shape of possible imprisonment. So, Villar and Rojo’s goal achieved is to account for the desires and fears of a “family” of kids who look at their past with suspicion and at the future with uncertainty.. In fact, the only thing that seems tangible, solid, is the moment by moment of a day shared on the edge of a swamp, as if Jean Renoir’s ‘A Field Game’ (1946) were twinned with ‘Zero in Conduct’ (1933). ) by Jean Vigo to celebrate the possibility of happiness… even when it seems ephemeral.
In the end, the great asset of ‘La mala familia’ is the refusal of its directors to judge its characters sharply, human beings with their weaknesses and virtues, young people who navigate adversity driven by the survival instinct and a marked halo of personal dignity. It is possible that, in its more discursive scenes, the film abuses a certain didacticism in the presentation of the vital drama of the protagonists, but ‘La mala familia’ lives on in the viewer’s memory as the brilliant and incisive testimony of a realitythat of youth marginality, which the media tends to approach from a dehumanizing sensationalism.
To verify that good cinema is always situated beyond moralism
DATA SHEET
Address: Nacho A. Villar, Luis Rojo Country: Spain Year: 2022 Release date: 5–5-2023 Gender: Documentary film Script: Nacho A. Villar, Luis Rojo, Raúl Liarte Duration: 81 min.
Synopsis: A group of friends, who haven’t been able to see each other for a while, take advantage of Andresito’s prison leave to meet again and enjoy a hot summer day on the outskirts of Madrid. With the sunset, they will have to face a problem from the past that threatens to put them all in jail.
Source: Fotogramas
Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.
