CLASSIQUE=MODERNE. A NEW HISTORY OF THE ZINEMATEKA II
DATE
From January 14th to April 10th, 2025
TIME
Tuesday 5:00 pm // Thursday 7:00 pm
SPACE
Golem Alhondiga Cinema
TICKET
€5 / €4 with AZ Card
Azkuna Zentroa – Alhóndiga Bilbao is putting together the second part of its Classique = Moderne programme as a tribute to 40 years of the Zinemateka in Bilbao.
The cycle takes the form of a series spread over 3 years – 2024, 2025 and 2026 – with 45 films selected in conjunction with José Julián Baquedano, who was a programme-compiler for this space when it was just starting out. These films are essential viewing more because of their impact on the history of cinema than the significance of their directors.
This cycle also emphasizes the value of the analogue medium, combining celluloid projections with the digital format. Nothing could be more modern and current, bearing in mind that a large number of contemporary film-makers choose this method in their productions, seeking more natural results.
We begin with the most outstanding works of two undisputed masters of Japanese cinema: Kenji Mizoguchi with “Ugetsu monogatari” (Tales of Moonlight and Rain) and Yasujirō Ozu with “Tokyo monogatari” (Tokyo Story). Two highly lyrical films from 1953, but of notably different styles, showcasing the variety of staging tendencies developed in Japan.
Next up is Robert Bresson’s benchmark work “Pickpocket” (1959), a highly influential film of the Nouvelle Vague and often praised by the director Paul Schrader, who cites it as an example of the ‘transcendental style’ in his book of the same name.
This is followed by “The Apartment” (1960), the Oscar-winning and best-known film by Billy Wilder. A melodrama in the form of a comedy in which the spectacular sets by Alexandre Trauner dazzle throughout. It is a pessimistic view of life with a happy ending.
Also on the comedy theme we have “Plácido” (1961), probably Luis García Berlanga’s best film, with its corrosive view of Spanish society and a supreme example of long take.
Our second chapter would not be complete without Luis Buñuel. As part of this cycle we will be screening “Los olvidados” (1950). This work, poetic and cruel, is one of the best from the Mexican period, in which he tells the story of the miserable life in the outskirts of a major city.
American cinema presents us with a jewel: “His Girl Friday” (1940), a comedy by Howard Hawks with his unconditional ‘style without style’ which makes us laugh and reflect at the same time. And if you want to cry and laugh melancholically, be sure not to miss “Amarcord” (1973) by the great Federico Fellini, in which he autobiographically depicts his infancy and youth.
The film-maker and critic François Truffaut, one of the most influential representatives of the Nouvelle Vague, offers us his second feature film “Jules et Jim” (1962), a beautiful and tragic love story with Jeanne Moreau, based on the autobiographical memoirs of a writer.
Another way of understanding cinema staging techniques is showcased by the Soviet film-maker S. M. Eisenstein. In “Oktyabr” (1927), we can see his style of dialectic montage through a crystallization of the revolution that is full of power and courage, in which its documentary–chronicle nature does not take away from its dramatic value.
“Othello” (1951), one of the fourteen finished films by Orson Welles, allows us to enjoy his command of staging and his powerful adaptation of the work of William Shakespeare without its theatrical origins showing, and the great artistic direction of Alexandre Trauner.
We round off the second chapter of this commemorative cycle with “The General” (1926) by the great Buster Keaton, a fine example of there being nothing more modern than a cinema classic. His films remain relevant today, they make us laugh, they touch us emotionally, and they make us think, just as they did a century ago.
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With this principle in mind, the second chapter of “Classique = moderne. A New History of the Zinemateka”, offers us the opportunity to watch some masterpieces of cinematic production.
We begin with the most outstanding works of two undisputed masters of Japanese cinema: Kenji Mizoguchi with “Ugetsu monogatari” (Tales of Moonlight and Rain) and Yasujirō Ozu with “Tokyo monogatari” (Tokyo Story). Two highly lyrical films from 1953, but of notably different styles, showcasing the variety of staging tendencies developed in Japan.
Next up is Robert Bresson’s benchmark work “Pickpocket” (1959), a highly influential film of the Nouvelle Vague and often praised by the director Paul Schrader, who cites it as an example of the ‘transcendental style’ in his book of the same name.
This is followed by “The Apartment” (1960), the Oscar-winning and best-known film by Billy Wilder. A melodrama in the form of a comedy in which the spectacular sets by Alexandre Trauner dazzle throughout. It is a pessimistic view of life with a happy ending.
Also on the comedy theme we have “Plácido” (1961), probably Luis García Berlanga’s best film, with its corrosive view of Spanish society and a supreme example of long take.
Our second chapter would not be complete without Luis Buñuel. As part of this cycle we will be screening “Los olvidados” (1950). This work, poetic and cruel, is one of the best from the Mexican period, in which he tells the story of the miserable life in the outskirts of a major city.
American cinema presents us with a jewel: “His Girl Friday” (1940), a comedy by Howard Hawks with his unconditional ‘style without style’ which makes us laugh and reflect at the same time. And if you want to cry and laugh melancholically, be sure not to miss “Amarcord” (1973) by the great Federico Fellini, in which he autobiographically depicts his infancy and youth.
The film-maker and critic François Truffaut, one of the most influential representatives of the Nouvelle Vague, offers us his second feature film “Jules et Jim” (1962), a beautiful and tragic love story with Jeanne Moreau, based on the autobiographical memoirs of a writer.
Another way of understanding cinema staging techniques is showcased by the Soviet film-maker S. M. Eisenstein. In “Oktyabr” (1927), we can see his style of dialectic montage through a crystallization of the revolution that is full of power and courage, in which its documentary–chronicle nature does not take away from its dramatic value.
“Othello” (1951), one of the fourteen finished films by Orson Welles, allows us to enjoy his command of staging and his powerful adaptation of the work of William Shakespeare without its theatrical origins showing, and the great artistic direction of Alexandre Trauner.
We round off the second chapter of this commemorative cycle with “The General” (1926) by the great Buster Keaton, a fine example of there being nothing more modern than a cinema classic. His films remain relevant today, they make us laugh, they touch us emotionally, and they make us think, just as they did a century ago.
PROGRAMME
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