El Planeta (The Planet) is a 2021 Spanish-language comedy-drama film directed by Amalia Ulman, starring herself and her mother, Ale Ulman, as they struggle to get by in the wake of financial disaster. The film was shot in Gijón, Asturias, and featured a small cast of local actors. The story is set in Gijón, a working-class city on Spain's northern coast. Amalia and Ale play mother and daughter, Leonor and Maria, who are facing eviction from their apartment in the center of town. Maria is a former beauty queen who dreams of regaining her place in high society after losing everything in the financial crisis, while Leonor is a lovable but stubborn matriarch who refuses to let go of her old-fashioned ideas about class and status.
Despite their financial struggles, the women lead a seemingly glamorous life, dressing up in vintage clothing and posing for selfies before taking public transportation to meet with various professionals. The film is a tribute to the cultural resilience of Spain's working class, as well as a commentary on the human toll of economic catastrophe.
The most striking feature of El Planeta is its visual style. Shot in black-and-white, the film evokes the gritty realism of early New Hollywood films like Taxi Driver and Mean Streets. The camera lingers on the details of Maria and Leonor's lives, from the chipping paint on their walls to the peeling labels on their cans of tuna. The film also makes great use of Gijón's distinctive architecture, with its narrow streets and Art Deco façades.
The performances in El Planeta are equally impressive. Amalia and Ale Ulman have a natural chemistry on screen, and their oddball humor and wit are endearing. At times, the film feels like a loving tribute to the off-kilter characters that populated the films of Pedro Almodóvar in the 1980s and 1990s. Nacho Vigalondo, who plays a local newspaper editor, also gives a standout performance, bringing both humor and pathos to his few scenes.
Thematically, El Planeta is a film about the precariousness of life in a capitalist society, and the ways in which people are forced to reinvent themselves in order to survive. Maria and Leonor's struggles to make ends meet are complicated by their pride and sense of nostalgia for a bygone era of prosperity. The film also touches on issues of family and community, as well as the generational divide between younger people, who have grown up in the midst of financial crisis, and older generations, who cling to outdated values and ideas.
Overall, El Planeta is a captivating and original film, full of heart and humor. Ulman's direction is confident and assured, and the film's black-and-white visuals are a feast for the eyes. With its unique blend of social commentary and off-kilter humor, El Planeta marks the arrival of a talented new voice in Spanish cinema.
El Planeta is a 2022 comedy with a runtime of 1 hour and 19 minutes.
It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 6.3 and a MetaScore of 76.
