‘The rite of spring’: The awakening of the senses

At first glance, it appears that Fernando Franco is changing the subject and moving away from disease and the care of the terminally ill, as he rightly reflected in ‘The wound’ and ‘Morir’ respectively, opting to portray the sexual repression of a college student in a large metropolis. However, The latest proposal by the Sevillian director, “The Rite of Spring”, is tremendously linked to his two previous worksprogressively fracturing the psyche of its protagonist, in a film that already from the title refers to the tribal instinct.

Presented in the Official Section of the 70th San Sebastian Film Festival, ‘The Rite of Spring’ comes into its own in portraying the trauma and repression of a young woman who, it seems, shouldn’t have these kinds of problems. Chemistry student in Madrid, he comes from another big city like Barcelona, ​​although he grew up in a very religious environment. Franco also underlines that family inheritance, placing the young woman in a Catholic boarding school (which, by the way, is much more common than it may seem at first sight).

Franco, who writes the screenplay of the film together with director Bego Aróstegui, does not elaborate on why Laura, the protagonist, has such a closed character, inviting the public to draw their own conclusions and therefore not to judge the actions of the young woman, who passively passes his life, showing himself unable to make his own decisions. It is an apparently impassive profile, which Franco uses to create a situation that forces the university student to wake up, when she meets David – played by Telmo Irureta -, a boy with cerebral palsy who lives with his mother, Isabel – who plays Emma Suárez.

Franco seats Laura in front of the mirror, seeing how David has a blog about sexual assistance and how people with some kind of disability continue to have sexuality. Here the director enters marshy terrain, asking himself how legitimate this type of assistance is, given that having sex is not a right (nor a duty). The director does not enter the subject, limiting himself to the fact that this approach serves to wake up his protagonist, since There can be no more contrast between those who can have sex and don’t and those who want it but are deprived of it.

A remarkable exercise by Fernando Franco on sexual repression and the psyche

And in that awakening, the metaphor of the title emerges, a clear reference to Igor Stravinsky’s masterful concert work, one of the most important pieces of contemporary academic music. An avant-garde ballet, with a certain anarchic air, like the awakening of desire, of spring, which is what Laura feels inside herself. The director does not perform an exercise of complete liberation, but of an awakening, which leaves the public with the task of establishing the meaning of their actions.

In that aspect, Valeria Sorolla’s interpretation stands out, even if the question remains about how much interpretation and experience there is, as she has several moments in which she shows an impassive look, which raises the question of whether it is a decision of the director, the innate talent of the actress, or if it was only enough to put on a face of circumstance. However, Sorolla has been in excellent company ever since Telmo Irureta shines, although the one that stands out is Emma Suárez, whose life as the mother of a child with sexual desires she cannot satisfy, deserved a separate film.

‘The rite of spring’ is a new example of Franco’s ability to dissect the psyche of an uncomfortable protagonist, which is forced to express itself. Follow the line of “Morir” and “La ferita”; even if his theme invites us to think differently. On the other hand, the director’s ability to create such abstract female characters that link his cinematic style to that of Ildikó Enyedi or Jaime Rosales should also be mentioned. Disturbing as well as bright.

Note: 7

The best: The plot relating to sexual assistance.

Worse: This passive is the attitude of its protagonist, who gets tired.