Official Competition        4 ½ stars

Official Competition by Argentine directors Mariano Cohn and Gaston Duprat brings together the great talents of Penelope Cruz, Antonio Banderas and Oscar Martinez in a satirical comedy that absolutely skewers the filmmakers of “art” movies and the mega-wealthy. Cruz plays internationally renowned film director Lola Cuevas who has a curly head of hair that must be seen to be believed. She is hired by a millionaire owner of a pharmaceutical company to make a movie based on an award-winning novel called Rivalry, though the millionaire is clueless about art or movies. Lola decides that the two greatest actors in Spanish cinema must be a part of this great venture: the legendary actor Ivan Torres (Oscar Martinez) who despises the movie industry and the star of mega-hit blockbusters Felix Rivero (Antonio Banderas) who is obsessed with his own stardom. The book being adapted concerns the conflict between the two brothers played by Ivan and Felix where one of them blames the other for their parents’ death. Most of the movie (Official Competition) focuses on the rehearsal process which takes place in the wide open spaces of a modern architectural marvel that epitomizes great wealth. As the two starring men begin rehearsing under Lola’s direction we get a taste of their eccentricities and how differently the two view their craft. Lola has her own methods that sometimes make the actors endlessly repeat their lines until they are perfect and makes them participate in “exercises” that cause them tension and pain to the point where a normal person would just walk away. (In one scene the two actors must bombard one another with the most vile insults they can think of.) Their remarks and actions reveal how much Ivan and Felix despise each other. Their acts of one-upmanship get increasingly absurd as each is determined to show just how “great” they really are. Eventually the absurdity turns to an unexpectedly dark level. In its satirical fashion, the movie never deviates from the theme of showing how pretentious and narcissistic those in the art world can be. The movie belongs mostly to Penelope Cruz who brings her acting to genius levels as she conveys emotion with the slightest stare. Despite the focus of the movie on the art world, it can be enjoyed by all audiences. This is the kind of movie I think of for my favorite kind of comedy.