‘The Basque’: The island of Izaro in Patagonia

Jabi Elortegi He is a director who has given little to the big screen. Director primarily of series and television, he returns to the cinema 13 years after his first film, ‘Perfect Happiness’, with ‘El vasco’, a comedy that arrives in commercial theaters after being shown in the ZineMira section of the 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival. A beautiful proposal of those that recall the importance of space for this type of film in the current advertising billboard.

The premise is simple, Mikel is an unemployed 30-year-old whose girlfriend has just left him. Tired of his situation, he contacts a second uncle, the son of his sister who emigrated to Argentina from one of his grandparents., who offers him a job in the company he is starting in his city, in the heart of Patagonia. Thus begins a curious odyssey in which the protagonist, tired of having always lived in the Basque Country, decides to visit another country, with surprise that the country where his uncle lives is inhabited by citizens of Basque origin who will make you feel that you have not really left your homeland.

that game on earth, Elortegi takes the opportunity to tell a nice well-being comedy with romantic tones, closer to similar proposals previously seen as ‘Nora’, in which Joseba Usabiaga, who plays Mikel, had already appeared. This aspect of Basque cinema leaves beautiful proposals that invite you to enjoy a moment of disconnection on the big screen. In a way, ‘El vasco’ could be similar to those German television adaptations of the saga ‘A summer in …’as it has classic elements like a protagonist who feels out of place and a captivating romantic premise. Mention also for Eduardo Blanco, which has that innate charisma for characters with a certain rogue soul. Added to this is a family history linked to the past which gives the film a certain background.

Nice feel-good comedy

In this context, Elortegi, who directs a screenplay by Arantxa Cuesta and Xabi Zabaleta, addresses the reality of the immigrant and the Spanish diaspora after the civil war, what they left behind and how traumatic it was for an entire people to escape Franco’s dictatorship. . It also shows the parallels that exist in the migratory phenomenon, since Mikel’s departure is linked to the economic crisis, which led an entire generation to seek life abroad. If it is true that the film touches on these themes, it does a subtle way and inserted in the logic of the comedy of well-being, which elevates the film’s pedigree.

“El vasco” may not be an exceptional comedy (in terms of quality and gastronomic well-being, the magnificent “La vida padre” was recently seen), but that does not mean that this is a good comedy, one that is enjoyed in the middle of the afternoon and that once again reminds us that cinema invites us to experience those moments of escape with proposals in bucolic tones and captivating characters.

Note: 7

The best: How well Joseba Usabiaga supports the tape with a comedic look of her own.

Worse: In fact, its premise is very much like a TV movie and it lacks a bit more of the action and humorous moments.