AFTERNOONS OF SOLITUDE
A film by Albert Serra
2024, 125 minutes
2024, 125 minutes
No. 477
Documentary
Documentary
Description
The new film from the visionary director of Pacifiction, Albert Serra’s Afternoons of Solitude is a spellbinding documentary that turns its gaze on the ceremonial splendor and devastating brutality of bullfighting in Spain.
With quiet intensity, Serra follows famed matador Andrés Roca Rey, from the solitude of his hotel room and the meticulousness of his preparations to the charged spectacle of the arena. Through his immersive and unhurried lens, Serra reveals Rey’s profound physical, spiritual, and aesthetic commitment to a centuries-old ritual—one that demands he take part in a timeless duel between man and beast.
Festivals
Winner, Best Film, San Sebastian International Film Festival
Official Selection, New York Film Festival
Official Selection, Toronto International Film Festival
Reviews
"Critic's Pick! Mesmerizing. Serra’s mastery of mood in the film builds on an iconoclastic career spanning from the Don Quixote deconstruction “Honor of Knights” to the atomic tropicalia of “Pacifiction.” - The New York Times
“This new documentary by Albert Serra is one of the most transfixing I’ve seen in a while… With its blend of intimacy and majesty, of breathless action and overarching monumentality, he achieves a unity, a synthesis, and a far-reaching vision that he has only occasionally found in fiction.” - The New Yorker
“A spellbinding, immersive work. A hell of a film. In the hands of great filmmakers, a documentary can render something that your sensibilities might willfully ignore — even condemn. Such is the rub you may find yourself in with iconoclastic Spanish director Albert Serra’s "Afternoons of Solitude" - LA Times
“One of the year’s best films. A visceral experience. Fascinating. Afternoons of Solitude is better compared to the paintings of Francis Bacon or Miriam Cahn." - Film Comment
“Four Stars (out of four). Visually beautiful. The action is brutal and breathtaking.” - RogerEbert.com
“Serra’s extraordinary documentary. A major work from a richly maturing filmmaker, of a piece with his recent fiction features in its use of languid repetition and sensory saturation.” - Variety
“This new documentary by Albert Serra is one of the most transfixing I’ve seen in a while… With its blend of intimacy and majesty, of breathless action and overarching monumentality, he achieves a unity, a synthesis, and a far-reaching vision that he has only occasionally found in fiction.” - The New Yorker
“A spellbinding, immersive work. A hell of a film. In the hands of great filmmakers, a documentary can render something that your sensibilities might willfully ignore — even condemn. Such is the rub you may find yourself in with iconoclastic Spanish director Albert Serra’s "Afternoons of Solitude" - LA Times
“One of the year’s best films. A visceral experience. Fascinating. Afternoons of Solitude is better compared to the paintings of Francis Bacon or Miriam Cahn." - Film Comment
“Four Stars (out of four). Visually beautiful. The action is brutal and breathtaking.” - RogerEbert.com
“Serra’s extraordinary documentary. A major work from a richly maturing filmmaker, of a piece with his recent fiction features in its use of languid repetition and sensory saturation.” - Variety
