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Black Bread

Pa negre

Spain, France

2010

108 Min
Color
1.66:1
Catalan, Spanish
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
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DIR Agustí Villaronga

EXEC Isona Passola

PROD Lluís Ferrando

SCR Agustí Villaronga, Emili Teixidor

DP Antonio Riestra

CAST Francesc Colomer, Marina Comas, Nora Navas, Roger Casamajor, Laia Marull, Marina Gatell, Eduard Fernández, Sergi López, Pep Tosar, Mercè Arànega, Joan Carles Suau, Eva Basteiro-Bertoli, Lluïsa Castell, Jordi Pla

PROD DES Ana Alvargonzález

MUSIC José Manuel Pagán

SOUND Dani Fontrodona

San Sebastián (Competition): Best Actress, Rotterdam (Signals: Villaronga), CPH PIX (Maestros), San Francisco (World Cinema), Vancouver (Cinema of Our Time)

Synopsis

In the harsh years of post-war rural Catalonia, Andreu, a youngster relegated to the losers’ side, comes across the bodies of a man and his son in the woods. When the authorities want to pin the blame on his father, the boy decides to try and help him, setting out to find out who killed them. The experience teaches Andreu moral awareness in a world of adults nourished by lies. To survive, he betrays his own roots, eventually finding the monster deep inside himself. Agustí Villaronga has already participated at San Sebastian with Tras el cristal (In a Glass Cage, Zabaltegi-New Directors, 1986) and Aro Tolbukhin (Official Selection, 2002). –San Sebastian International Film Festival

Director

Original

Agustí Villaronga

He has been active as a director, screenwriter and actor since 1976. His oeuvre consists of four short films, five fiction films, two television films, two documentaries and two episodes for Spanish television series. Villaronga’s impressive full-length film debut Tras el cristal (1987) is still seen as a controversial work. He has also made strong films with a surreal edge, such as El nino de la luna (with a soundtrack by Dead Can Dance and a lead role for the band’s singer Lisa Gerrard, 1989), El mar (2000) and Aro Tolbukhin. En la mente del asesino (2002), all of which are bringing increasing international recognition for Villaronga’s work. His new film Pa negre (2010) had its premiere in competition at the San Sebastian film festival, and won a Silver Shell for actress Nora Navas. –Rotterdam 

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Picture of Michael Harbour

Michael Harbour

16Jan12

A slightly Dickensian story of a boy finding his way in the world as he learns to sacrifice sentiment for practicality and family for advantage. Beautifully filmed as well.

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Juan Barquin

22Oct11

Great photography, as well as great opening and closing scenes. Unfortunately the script was underdeveloped and the emotional climax came too early, letting the film just drag on after that. Maybe if it hadn't tried to be too many different things at once, it could have worked even better. I can't say I was left as impressed as the people who gave it 9 Goya awards though.

Picture of Nikola

Nikola

22Jun11

Great photography, aesthetics and a good twist in the end... I just wished all the characters and stories tied up more neatly.

Valeriu-Mihail Baltateanu

11Jun11

great movie with a divisive "message". Not for the faint of heart.

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Articles

Our roundup of essays and articles on this film.
W184

San Francisco International Film Festival 2011

By David Hudson on April 21, 2011

Photo by Tommy Lau Updated through 5/8. The San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF), the longest one running in the Americas, opens

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Trailer For Agusti Villaronga's Dark Post-War Thriller BLACK BREAD

By Twitchfilm.com on April 29, 2011
A selection of the 2010 San Sebastian Film Festival, Agusti Villaronga’s Pa Negre – that’s Catalan for Black Bread – is slowly making its way around the globe and turning heads. Here’s the official synopsis
→ read on Twitchfilm.com

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Indigestible

By ronald Bergan on September 23, 2010

A never-ending rambling melodrama which pretends to be making a statement on Franco’s Spain, but muddies the water with a rights-of-passage drama, ‘shocking’ sequences, a folk tale of a monster, and…  read review

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