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| A scene shows Farruquito's brilliance as a dancer (centre) |
For 11 days I had quite the schedule, in many instances seeing two films per day! It almost felt like a job, having to wake up early to take public transit downtown and get there at least 30 minutes before the screening to queue up in order to get a good seat in the movie theatre!
In some cases there was already a long line half an hour before. To pass the time I either chatted up someone in front of me in the queue, or read a book -- the most reading I've done in 11 days.
Some screenings included interviews with the filmmakers which just added a greater appreciation for their work.
Here are my brief reviews in the order in which I saw the films:
Farruquito: a Flamenco Dynasty (2025)
I've always found flamenco dancing fascinating because of its raw emotion and intense endurance, which is why I picked this documentary. Farruquito is the stage name of Juan Manuel Fernandez Montoya, the third generation to dance in his family.
It was his grandfather Farruco who was a legend for creating his own steps that were inspired by nature, like horses' hooves as they run on the grasslands. He had one son who was destined to be great -- Farruquito -- but he died at the age of 18 in a car accident.
But when the young Montoya showed talent in dancing, he inherited his uncle's stage name and learned dancing from his grandfather, and music from his guitar-playing father. The budding Farrquito became quite the celebrity in Spain.
The documentary is filled with a treasure trove of old videos of the grandfather, and of Farruquito as a child -- watching them gives viewers an insight into how he learned from his master, and also the family dynamics. At the same time the film doesn't hold back on confronting Farruquito's demons and how he must reconcile them to move forward.
There is already a fourth generation coming up -- Farruquito's son, who is a teenager and beginning to develop his own style of dancing, which Farruquito is more than encouraging.
Some of the present-day scenes are staged, but for the most part viewers get to know most of the key family members and their own take on what it's like to be part of this flamenco dynasty.
Directed by Santi Aguado Reuben Atlas
90 minutes
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