From ‘Le Iene’ to ‘Thesis’: the 10 most important debuts of the 90s

The key Spanish film of the 90s? One of them, without a doubt. ‘Thesis’, Alejandro Amenábar’s first film, premiered in 1996 and shocked Spanish cinema. Awarded with 7 Goya Awards, including Best Picture, Director and Original Screenplay, the director entered through the big door of the industry’s billing a thriller in which mystery, tension and intrigue are maintained with surprising solvency. In some details there was the slightest, inexperienced hand of its creator, but the overall result was admirably powerful, a magnificent suspense that constantly held the viewer’s attention.

Starring a more than notable Ana Torrent, ‘Thesis’ also meant the arrival of a new generation of directors who would change the rules forever, betting on new references, a greater commitment to entertainment and ambition, destroying prejudices with each new step and showing that, with debuts like this, it was worth betting on his victory.

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Brutal debut signed in 1996 by Paul Thomas Anderson with ‘Sydney’. Before starting to put together masterpieces that ended up making him the best director of his generation and a contemporary classic, the director of stainless classics like ‘Magnolia’ or the recent ‘Licorice pizza’ made his film debut with this one. A very elegant thriller where the first radiant flashes of genius could already be grasped perfectly. A first step towards the pinnacle of its current state.

Comes and kisses the saint. Or, which is the same, debut in the feature film with, first, one of the best films of the nineties, second, one of the most sarcastic, delusional and, at the same time, beautiful and crystalline reflections of what is called the American dream and, third, sweep all the awards of the season by concluding the journey with an Oscar for best picture and best director in hand. It’s not bad baggage for Sam Mendes, a seasoned boy on stage who, mixing theatrical elements better than ever with doses of cinema in its purest form, has arrived in big business to stay. I blow on the table, slap in the face a whole philosophy of life that we have the habit of contextualizing in a too specific way. Those aspirations, those broken dreams, that pathos, that loneliness, that intolerance, that fear and insecurity that runs through each of the characters that form the basis of the greatness of ‘American Beauty’ could be applied, to perfection, to each of us.

In substance and form, ‘American Beauty’ remains Sam Mendes’ best film to date and one of those works that, in addition to marking a career, define an entire society. He looks us in the face, clarifies things, yells at us with pungent whispers, makes us laugh while the punches in the stomach don’t stop and, in the end, they leave us alone with the echo of a half smile that resonates in our heads. I said, come and kiss the saint. But yes, through a conversation with our demons. A masterpiece.

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Referred to by Stephen King himself as “a great job and not just an adaptation”, ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ remains, to this day, the best film to come out of one of his novels. And that here we have very little intrigue and not a pinch of terror, being two of the most characteristic elements of his literary works, but we are not lacking either. The greatness of the masterpiece signed by a newcomer Frank Darabont lies, essentially, in the strength of its two main characters, Andrew Dufresne and Red, performed respectively and masterfully by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman.

Their friendship, based on mutual respect and admiration, quickly moves away from the more current codes of prison cinema to deepen human values ​​as essential as honesty, trust or generosity, among many others. All this, from start to finish, told with overwhelming elegance and exquisite management of the narration by a Darabont who elevated and improved King’s novel into an essential cinematic classic.

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With his first feature film, Spike Jonze has obtained, in addition to the favor of an industry that has ended up placing him among the five nominees for the Oscar for best director, building a cult jewel that time does not pass. And it is that, fundamentally supported by an extraordinary screenplay by the great Charlie Kaufman, ‘How to be John Malkovich’ is one of those works that, on paper, may seem little more than a curiosity as absurd as it is ingenious, but which, once seen on the screen, it is discovered how vibrant cinematic exercise, brilliant reflection on the author’s creation and personality, delirious absurd comedy and, finally, a memorable technical and interpretative recital. Something very close to a masterpiece.

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Winner of 7 Oscars, including Best Picture, ‘Dances With Wolves’ was a dream directorial debut for Kevin Costner. And the truth is that, beyond the possible debates that the ‘justice’ of the statuettes always generates, we find ourselves before us a western of imperishable beauty, of wise narrative rhythm, of formal elegance and interpretative passion. A fantastic job that also helped us discover a filmmaker who, after the failure at all levels of ‘Messenger of the future’, once again gave us a masterpiece with ‘Open Range’.

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If a film debut is to serve, among other things, to begin to give clues to the essence of an artistic discourse and the form of one’s own creative personality, it is clear that ‘Il miracolo di P. Tinto’ does not leave any room for doubt. : Javier Fesser, in its entirety, there was, in every frame, every idea, every visual solution, every absurd dialogue, every flirtation with surrealism, every nod to the most hilarious classics and, above all, every explosion of tenderness in the midst of bewilderment.

Unique film in the history of Spanish cinema of pure originality, a cult jewel admired by a large legion of faithful, this first hit on the director’s desk continues to resonate for many as the strongest and most inspired of his career. In any case, whether this enthusiasm is shared or not, it is clear that ‘El miracolo de P. Tinto’ continues to be a rare bird full of brilliant ideas and acclaimed risk, one of the most extraordinary works of his carr.

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$ 27,000. Not one more, not one less. With that “ridiculous” budget, Kevin Smith managed to collect “employees” in the mid-nineties and, not happy with such a result, turned it into one of the most important cinematographic phenomena of that decade whose capacity for risk and surprise is increasingly lacking. And it is that, to be honest, it is clear that, today, such a proposal would find a more or less prominent space only on a platform like Netflix or similar.

However, ‘Clerks’ managed to completely mark a generation that immediately hooked up with the daily, delusional characters and stories of one of those comedies where just about everything works. Fluid rhythm, more than convincing gags, authentic finds at the level of Jay and Silent Bob, a script in a constant state of inspiration and, above all, a look, that of Smith, fresh, authentic and genuine.

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The decade of the 1990s was drawing to a close and some of its best moments were reserved for the outcome. Among these, the arrival of Guy Ritchie on a film scene that suddenly found himself with a restless narrator who opposed a genre, the mafia cinema, which since the appearance of a certain Tarantino had not offered an equal show. . His first work, “Lock & Stock”, was, beyond a brutal declaration of intent, a waste of personality adapted to the controversial art of constant reference.

That is to say, there was nothing new under the sun but, far from creepy, one felt really comfortable under its rays. That first story of cheaters and bosses who confront each other through letters, persecutions and insults mixed with alcohol, cigarettes and blood, it almost automatically became a cult jewel. A status that, far from disappearing, has grown over time. And in all honesty.

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