Valencia, Spain | AFP | With a radiant Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem opting for a new award, Cate Blanchett as a special guest and an atmosphere of emotional reunion, Spanish cinema dresses this Saturday for a gala to deliver the Goya Awards that recover the public after the austere edition of the year last.
First Bardem -with a suit, shirt and black bow tie-, and later Cruz with an elegant light dress by Channel, the pair of brand-new Oscar candidates were among the most acclaimed on the red carpet of the Palau de les Arts in Valencia (east) . Equally awaited was the arrival of Blanchett, in a flattering fringed suit, who will receive the first International Goya.
With the president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, in the audience, after 10:00 p.m. (9:00 p.m. GMT) the gala began, to which “The Good Boss” arrives as the great favorite thanks to its record of 20 candidates.
The satire on capitalism by Fernando León de Aranoa, which immerses the viewer in the toxic environment of Básculas Blanco, a provincial company run by an unscrupulous boss, has eight of its performers competing in different categories, led by a superb Bardem , whom many give as a guaranteed winner.
“Let’s see what happens. It would not be the first or the last time that a favorite does not receive recognition,” said the actor, who, however, will compete for an Oscar for his work in “Being the Ricardos.”
– Nothing decided –
Also arriving in Valencia with solid arguments, and 14 nominations, “Maixabel”, by Icíar Bollaín, thanks to his account of the true story of the meeting of Maixabel Lasa, widow of the Basque politician Juan María Jáuregui, with two members of the separatist armed gang ETA repentant of having participated in the murder of her husband.
Behind, with eight nominations, was the reflection on motherhood and the historical memory of Pedro Almodóvar, “Parallel Mothers”. The film by the director from La Mancha had better luck at the Oscars, where in addition to Cruz’s work, the author of his music, Alberto Iglesias, was recognized, who, however, will compete for his twelfth Goya for his work in “Maixabel”.
The best film category is closed by “Libertad” (6), by the novel Clara Roquet, and “Mediterráneo” (7), by Marcel Barrena.
– No hugs –
With the pandemic indicators falling, Spain is cautiously facing what could be the long-awaited return to normality. With that optimism –still cautious– this gala has been designed where Joaquín Sabina or C. Tangana will perform and that will contrast with the austerity of the previous one, when Antonio Banderas was the sober conductor of an unusual ceremony from an empty theater in Malaga ( south), and with the country still gripped by the pandemic.
Without a fixed presenter –and with some precautions such as a reduced capacity and the recommendation to limit physical contact– the organizers promise more novelties in this gala of which, for now, only two winners are known: the first International Goya, for Blanchett, and that of Honor for the veteran actor José Sacristán.
The remaining 28 “bigheads” are unknown. Despite the applauded work of Bardem, who with five goyas is the actor with the most awards, his competitors are the powerful Luis Tosar (“Maixabel”), Javier Gutiérrez (“The daughter”) and Eduard Fernández (“Mediterranean”).
– Latin American competition –
It could be easier for Fernando León to win his third Goya for best direction and thus shake off the disappointment of Tuesday, when “The Good Boss” was on the verge of entering the final quintet that will compete for the Oscar for best international film.
To achieve this, academics will have to prefer the work of this meticulous director over those of Bollaín, Manuel Martín Cuenca (“The Daughter”) and Almodóvar, who this time is not the favorite to win his fourth award as director.
Yes, it seems closer to its protagonist and fetish actress, Penélope Cruz, to whom her tormented and firm Janis does not stop giving her joy.
First it was the Volpi Cup in Venice, then his candidacy in Spain and now his fourth Oscar nomination, which he already got as a secondary for “Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona” (2009).
The Madrid actress will also have tough competition, especially from Blanca Portillo’s solid “Maixabel”, as well as Emma Suárez (“Josefina”) and veteran Petra Martínez (“Life was this”).
For the award for best Ibero-American film, the Peruvian “Song without a name”, the Chilean “The mountain range of dreams”, the Argentine “The Siamese” and the Mexican “The Wolves” will compete.
