Between Two Waters
| Between Two Waters | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Isaki Lacuesta |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by | Paco Poch |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Diego Dussuel |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | BTeam Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 136 minutes |
| Countries |
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| Language | Spanish |
Between Two Waters (Spanish: Entre dos aguas) is a 2018 Spanish-language docufiction drama film directed by Isaki Lacuesta, who co-wrote the screenplay with Isa Campo and Fran Araújo. It stars the brothers Israel Gómez Romero and Francisco José "Cheíto" Gómez Romero, revisiting the people whom Lacuesta had filmed as adolescents in The Legend of Time (2006). The film combines scripted fiction with elements drawn from the brothers' lives and was shot in and around San Fernando, Cádiz.[1][2]
The film competed at the 66th San Sebastián International Film Festival, where it won the Golden Shell for best film and the SIGNIS Award.[3] It subsequently won the Golden Astor for best film at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival, while Israel Gómez Romero received the festival's best actor award.[4] At the 11th Gaudí Awards, it won seven awards, including Best Non-Catalan Language Film, Best Director and Best Actor.[5]
Plot
[edit source]Isra and Cheíto are two Roma brothers from San Fernando who have followed different paths. Isra has served a prison sentence for drug dealing, while Cheíto has joined the Spanish Navy. After Isra is released and Cheíto returns from a lengthy mission, both men come home. Their reunion revives memories of their father's violent death when they were children.
Isra attempts to rebuild his relationship with his wife and three daughters and to earn a legal living in an area marked by unemployment and limited opportunities. Cheíto, meanwhile, tries to reconcile family life with the stability and absences that come with his naval career. The brothers' efforts to regain control of their lives bring them together again.[6]
Production
[edit source]Between Two Waters grew out of Lacuesta's earlier film The Legend of Time, in which he had followed Isra and Cheíto as teenagers. Lacuesta remained in contact with the brothers and conceived the films as a possible long-term portrait of their lives. Although events and experiences from their surroundings informed the new film, Lacuesta described it as a fiction film whose scenes were staged and scripted to create a strongly realist effect.[1]
Principal photography began on 14 August 2017 in San Fernando and nearby Rota, in the province of Cádiz. The production occupied a space between documentary portraiture and narrative fiction. It was shot on film rather than digitally, and includes footage from The Legend of Time to emphasize the passage of time.[7][8]
The screenplay was written by Lacuesta, Campo and Araújo. The film was produced as a Spanish–Swiss–Romanian co-production by La Termita Films, Bteam Prods, All Go Movies, Mallerich Films Paco Poch, Bord Cadre Films and Studio Indie Productions. Diego Dussuel served as cinematographer, Sergi Dies and Domi Parra edited the film, and the score was composed by Kiko Veneno and Raül Refree.[9]
Release
[edit source]The film was presented in the official competition of the 66th San Sebastián International Film Festival in September 2018.[6] It was released theatrically in Spain by BTeam Pictures on 30 November 2018, with Filmax handling international sales.[8] It was later selected for the Voices section of the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2019.[9]
Reception
[edit source]The film received praise for its naturalism and its treatment of the boundary between documentary and fiction. Alfonso Rivera of Cineuropa wrote that Lacuesta brought the audience close to the brothers without complacency and highlighted the screenplay's ability to leave room for humour, spontaneity and authenticity. Rivera nevertheless considered the film's length excessive.[8]
In The Hollywood Reporter, Jonathan Holland described the film as a "striking, potently human" follow-up to The Legend of Time and praised its use of non-professional performers playing versions of themselves.[10] Jordi Costa of El País praised the film's construction of a convincing illusion of life and its exploration of the tension between marginalisation and social integration.[2] Carlos Boyero, also writing in El País, acknowledged the film's authenticity and the performances, but criticised its running time, repetition and the difficulty of understanding portions of the dialogue.[11]
Accolades
[edit source]| Award or festival | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 66th San Sebastián International Film Festival | Golden Shell for Best Film | Between Two Waters | Won | [3] |
| SIGNIS Award | Between Two Waters | Won | ||
| 33rd Mar del Plata International Film Festival | Golden Astor for Best Film | Between Two Waters | Won | [4] |
| Best Actor | Israel Gómez Romero | Won | ||
| 33rd Goya Awards | Best Film | Between Two Waters | Nominated | [12] |
| Best Director | Isaki Lacuesta | Nominated | ||
| 11th Gaudí Awards | Best Non-Catalan Language Film | Between Two Waters | Won | [5] |
| Best Director | Isaki Lacuesta | Won | ||
| Best Actor | Israel Gómez Romero | Won | ||
| Best Cinematography | Diego Dussuel | Won | ||
| Best Editing | Sergi Dies | Won | ||
| Best Original Score | Kiko Veneno and Raül Refree | Won | ||
| Best Sound | Alejandro Castillo and Amanda Villavieja | Won | ||
| 6th Feroz Awards | Special Award | Between Two Waters | Won | [13] |
References
[edit source]- 1 2 Rivera, Alfonso (29 September 2018). "Isaki Lacuesta • Director: "I think it's great to live and work with different kinds of people"". Cineuropa. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- 1 2 Costa, Jordi (30 November 2018). "Entre dos aguas: Esculpiendo la realidad". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- 1 2 "66th San Sebastian Film Festival 2018 Awards". San Sebastián International Film Festival. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- 1 2 "33rd Mar del Plata Film Festival (2018)". Mar del Plata International Film Festival. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- 1 2 "Premios Gaudí 2019: 'Entre dos aguas', de Isaki Lacuesta, triunfa con siete premios" (in Spanish). RTVE. 27 January 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- 1 2 "Entre dos aguas / Between Two Waters". San Sebastián International Film Festival. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ Rivera, Alfonso (20 September 2017). "Isaki Lacuesta is set to wrap shooting for the portrait/narrative film Between Two Waters". Cineuropa. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 Rivera, Alfonso (28 September 2018). "Review: Between Two Waters". Cineuropa. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- 1 2 "Between Two Waters (Entre dos aguas)". Cineuropa. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ Holland, Jonathan (27 December 2018). "'Between Two Waters' ('Entre Dos Aguas'): Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ Boyero, Carlos (27 September 2018). "Trabajada autenticidad de Isaki Lacuesta". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ "Nominados a los 33 Premios Goya" (in Spanish). Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ "'El reino', 'Fariña' y 'Arde Madrid' triunfan en los Premios Feroz 2019" (in Spanish). Asociación de Informadores Cinematográficos de España. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
External links
[edit source]- Between Two Waters at IMDb
- Between Two Waters at the San Sebastián International Film Festival