Day 56: Sitges

Tuesday, October 8

I didn't set an alarm. I hadn't gone to bed until 3:30am, so i just wanted to give my body whatever time it needed to regenerate. I also hadn't bought any movie tickets for today, since i didn't know when i'd be able to make it to Sitges. Barely even looked at the schedule.
    Despite this, i woke up at 9 and could not go back to sleep. I took a shower. I went to the bar on my floor to get some water, making sure to fill my bottles today, hoping not to repeat the dehydration scare from yesterday.
    I thought about getting breakfast, but ultimately, i didn't want to take the time. Unfortunately, the breakfast buffet is not free at this hostel. I sat down to look at the film fest schedule, to figure out how quickly i needed to leave.
    There was a screening of The Umbrella Fairy at 12:30. I was kind of interested in this one; it's an anime, looks like it might be more family-oriented, but it seems like it's Miyazaki-inspired. So that could be either good or bad. I decided to see it.
    It was playing at a venue i hadn't been to yet, the Cinema Casino Prado. I checked the map. Oh, this is actually much closer to the train station than the places i've been. And it's close to that restaurant that Huan-Hua recommended in Sitges that i haven't had a chance to get to yet, because it's far from the other venues.
    I decided to head to the train station right away, and get my tickets purchased on the ride. That way, hopefully, i would have time to stop at the restaurant and get some food. The restaurant opens at noon, it's a seven minute walk from the Sitges train station, the train i ended up on was scheduled to arrive at 11:53. That seemed perfect. I did swipe two miniature croissants off the breakfast bar on the way through. I didn't think anyone would notice or care.

    I thought Huan-Hua had said this place was quick, but when i got there, it looked a bit more sit-down-and-eat than i expected, and i wasn't sure i'd actually have enough time to order food, wait for it to cook, eat it, and get the check. Getting the check around here sometimes seems to take as much time as those first three steps combined.
    I had walked past some bakeries and sandwich shops with premade items on the counter that i could probably grab and go, but when i returned to them, they just weren't striking my fancy, plus there were lines. So i just went to the theater.
    For the first 20 or so minutes of The Umbrella Fairy, i was convinced i was not going to like it. It was lighthearted, cute, and very magical girl story type stuff, beautifully animated, but not for me; i am not seven years old. I had been expecting something like Princess Mononoke. At a few points, i was considering walking out, but that's not a thing i have ever actually done. If i could make it all the way through X-Men 3 in the theater, i can handle this sappy, sugar-coated children's movie.
    As soon as the characters leave their home and start on their journey, though, things get heavy very fast. We're immediately plunged into deep themes of loss, grief, and regret. Characters are grappling with feeling like they've outlived their usefulness, they've failed their dead loved ones, they couldn't protect them. And finally, trying to find a new purpose in life after your loved ones are gone.
    In my film reviews post, i will fully spoil the end of this movie, but i'm not going to do that now. All i'll say is, this hit way too close to home for me. One character experiences profound loss, and...goes on to, in very specific detail, do exactly what i have been doing.
    This movie was fucking devastating. I was weeping in the theater for the last 45 minutes, full on sobbing by the time the credits rolled. I tried to get it under control before the lights came up, but i couldn't. I went outside, and cried in public, in broad daylight, for another ten minutes.
    Movies are supposed to make you feel things. This one succeeded beyond the scope of what i'd thought possible. I'm glad i saw it, i just really wished i didn't have to be in public afterward. I'm very glad that i didn't leave at the beginning.
    Once i'd pulled myself together, there was no time to do anything but walk back around to the front of the building, and re-enter for my next movie.
    Things Will Be Different is one that i missed at both Berlin and Paris, but that i had been kind of interested in. I think i could've seen this one at Berlin, but it was early in the day, and i was uninterested in the next few, so rather than go to the festival, leave, and come back, i just skipped it.
    Now that i've seen it...yeah, that was probably fine.
    The director was on hand to come out and introduce this one. I might've enjoyed the film more if he hadn't, though. He said something along the lines of how his whole family are scientists, and he's the black sheep, as the artist. So he made this movie for them, because they enjoy science fiction, and would like to have this movie to pick apart. He said something like, "You might not understand everything, and honestly i'd be surprised if you do, just keep thinking about it and talking about it after you leave."

    Don't talk down to me, man.
    I thought everything about the movie was pretty straightforward, actually, other than the villain's motives. I don't feel like that was explained at any point. I could be wrong. I'm probably not going to watch the movie a second time to find out, though.
    This is a time travel movie. The time travel is pretty light at first; we've got a brother and sister duo on the lam after they've stolen seven million dollars in cash. The brother has found out about a house in the country where you can fiddle with the clocks and then go through a wooden door to the past. Their plan is to wait in the past for two weeks, which they think is enough time for the heat to die down after they have, again, stolen seven million dollars, and then they'll reappear in the present and go about their lives. Time passes the same in both periods, evidently; after two weeks in the past, two weeks should also have passed in the present. So it's a little like Primer that way, a movie that actually is as complicated and thought-provoking as this one thinks it is.
    I won't say i didn't enjoy it, it was a solid way to spend ninety minutes. The ending is a little fucky, but by now i'm expecting that from just about everything i see at this festival.
    I think the thing that annoys me the most about this movie, though, is that i saw the twist coming far, far in advance, which isn't the problem; a good twist should be built to make sense in a way that an astute audience can put the pieces together before the reveal. What bugs me is, the characters involved had no reason to preserve that secret, and if they'd just come out and revealed it immediately, then none of the bullshit that happened in the second half of the movie would have even needed to happen. It's a secret kept only for the purpose of a plot contrivance, to stoke animosity between characters. Unnecessary.
    I just thought of something else that's gonna bother me now, but i'll save it for the full film review. This blog is supposed to be about my experiences, and i've already spent too much time on this movie.
    My third movie of the day was something i wasn't super interested in, it was more or less picked just to fill time. I had about half an hour, so i headed back to that restaurant, Eguzki Lizarran. Once again, as i was standing outside, i just didn't feel like i had the time. Even though i did not feel much pressure to go to the next movie.
    See, the thing with the next movie was, it was a documentary, about a filmmaker i had never heard of, and it was in the Brigadoon section. This is another venue i haven't been to yet, and the kicker is, all of the Brigadoon showings are free, and unassigned seating. My fourth and final movie is also a Brigadoon selection, though, so i just really wanted to go to this one more or less to figure out how that whole thing worked, because the fourth movie was something i was super interested in.
    I swung by a convenience store to buy a big bottle of water, to refill my smaller bottles again, just like yesterday. While i was there, i grabbed a Coke Zero, as is my custom, because i have an ADHD-fueled caffeine addiction, and some snacks, since i'd just eschewed lunch again. I got a pretty big bag of peanuts in a flavor i couldn't translate, and another Mars bar. I stuffed this bounty into my vest pockets as best as i could, and headed toward the theater.
    The course from here to the theater, which turned out to be yet another part of the Melìa, took me past the food trucks again. Since i was here, i couldn't resist. I'd been in Sitges for four hours already and all i'd eaten today was those two hot mini croissants. I'd taken peanuts as a snack because i thought the protein would help, but i decided that actual nutrition might be in order.
    A lot of these trucks have burgers. They're definitely very European variations on burgers, though, so i don't feel bad about ordering them, they still count as new experiences. I picked a truck called Ca La Frida Delicies Sobre Rodes, or Ca La Frida's Delicacies on Wheels, and ordered the Masovera Burger, a 100% Garrotxa burger with lettuce, bacon, goat cheese, and tomato jam. I've had several burgers with goat cheese at this point, goat cheese is not only more plentiful in Europe but actually typically cheaper, which is mind-blowing; but the jam on a burger was a truly unique experience. I loved it.
    You're not gonna believe this, but as i walked along that wall above the beach, from the food trucks to the Melìa, as i've done a few times a day every day that i've come to the festival now, i found one of those bottle filling fountains, exactly the same as the ones i've been using all over Barcelona.
    God damn. Was this here the whole time? I must've walked past it half a dozen times.
    It's great that i know where to buy 1.5 liters of water for 25 cents now, but this is even closer and free-er. Glad i've found it. Can't believe i didn't see it sooner.
    I didn't know where the Brigadoon room was in the Melìa, though. It's a pretty big building, and as i've already seen, you need to go outside to get from the Auditori to the Tramuntana, so this could be anywhere. All i've got is that the name of the rooms are Sala Llevant 1 and 2.
    I came around the building to the main entrance, where the red carpet that leads to the Auditori is. I was walking toward the door, but i didn't really know where i would be going from there. I stopped, backed down the stairs, and looked around, to see if any of the red-shirted festival staff were around. Instead, a security guard was approaching my position, on the other side of a velvet rope.
    "Hola!" she said. I don't think she was expecting a conversation, but i didn't think i was even necessarily facing her direction when she said it.
    "Hi," i replied. "Hey, do you know where the Brigadoon is?"
    She did not speak English at all. I showed her on my phone the words "Sala Llevant" and tried to ask where that was. She didn't know. A voice came over her radio, and she had to have a whole conversation, which i'm sure was security related, as i waited. I was trying to tell her i would just find someone from the festival to ask, but she was still trying to help.
    "I know it's in this building, i just don't know where," i said.
    "In the hotel?" she asked.
    "...i think so?" i said, not understanding in that moment that the entire building is not considered the hotel. The Melìa Hotel is specifically one part of the building. I did not know this.
    She pointed around the building, to where the end of the line i'd joined for Presence at the beginning of the first day had ended, and indicated that that was where i needed to go.
    "The entrance is over there?" i asked, to confirm. Although i knew the entrance to the hotel was there, i'd seen it on day one.
    "Yes," she said. "Si."
    Well, worst case, maybe i could ask somebody over there. I didn't know for sure whether the hotel was actually part of the festival or not. She had said something during the conversation about the Tramuntana, and i knew the ticket booth was over there, so at one point i had thought i'd just go over there and ask. The hotel entrance is the opposite side of the building from the Tramuntana.
    But, i followed her directions. Just inside the hotel lobby was an information desk. Two red-shirted festival staff were at that desk, fielding questions. Someone was in front of me, so i got in line behind her, but one of the two staff broke off and engaged me immediately.
    "Hola!" she said.
    "Hi, i'm looking for Sala Llevant, for Brigadoon," i said, pronouncing the "LL" as "L," even though i should have known better. It just didn't come out in that moment.
    "Yes, it's downstairs," she said, pointing through the lobby. I thanked her, and headed that way.
    There weren't any signs pointing the way to Brigadoon; instead, i found myself following some diamonds on the floor that said something like "Sitges Film Festival - Industry Room," which excited and terrified me. I wonder if i could just walk in there and start networking?? Maybe meet Steven Soderbergh and Spider-One from Powerman 5000?
    Maybe if i was still the person i was in 2019. I've lived the full lifetimes of three entirely separate people since then, though.
    I finally saw a cardboard standee that said "BRIGADOON." The doors were closed, but a red-shirted festival staffer sat at a table just outside.
    "Hi," i said, starting the conversation for a change. I've noticed that people in Spain will often say "hola" whether you've given an indication of wanting to converse or not. It's kind of nice, since i'm basically a vampire that needs to be invited to a conversation in order to participate. "I was looking for this film?" I showed her my phone.
    "Yes, but it's already started. Uhh. Well, let me see." She got up and opened the door a crack, glancing around the room. She nodded to me, and opened the door wide enough for me to enter.
    This theater was significantly smaller than any of the other screening rooms i'd been in so far. It was basically a conference room that had a dozen-ish rows of cinema seats moved in, and a projector blasting at a portable screen at the front. Very small. The second to last row was completely empty, so i found myself a spot in the middle of it.
    Nadie Inquietó Más - Narciso Ibáñez Menta 2.0 is a documentary following the career of Narciso Ibáñez Menta, an actor from the mid-20th century who was very particular about getting his name spelled correctly with those accents above the letters. I'd gone into this thinking it was about a filmmaker, hoping that a behind-the-scenes look at a great director or producer or screenwriter's career would teach me invaluable lessons for my own. Once i realized he was an actor, i became less sure that i was going to get anything out of this film, especially since i had never heard of the guy before.
    The film is pulled together from a lot of archive footage of his 78-year acting career, from 1920 to 1998, but it's mostly focused on facts and performances, rather than much of anything technical or behind-the-scenes.
    Honestly, since i don't know the man or his work, the most interesting thing about this documentary for me was the documentary itself, pulled together from old interviews and whatever historical documents could be obtained. That's a craft in an of itself, a type of filmmaking which deeply appeals to me, and the kind of videos that i enjoy putting together myself. I'm also very into lost media these days, so i also perked up at the bits where they spoke about episodes of television shows he appeared on which have since been destroyed. One of his most well-regarded performances was as title character in an Argentinian television adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera, though no copies of the show are known to exist anymore, an the only remaining image of his costume and mask come from an anonymous fan who took a photo of the TV screen and mailed it to him in a letter.
    This is a 2024 retooling of a documentary which was originally released in 2008, hence the "2.0" in the title.
    I stayed through the whole screening, even though i wasn't getting much out of it, largely because i felt like i'd annoyed that staffer on entry and i didn't want to disappoint her further by leaving early. Plus, it was a good spot to sit and quietly eat my snacks.
    After it was done, i left the room in search of a toilet. Once in the hall, i went around the corner, back toward the staircase i'd come down at the beginning, passed that, and...oh shit. I know exactly where i am.
    I was outside the ticket booth labeled "Tramuntana," which is not the actual Tramuntana, which i wrote about on the first day of the festival.
    Cool. So there's a much easier way to get to the Brigadoon than going through the hotel lobby. I'll keep this in mind for the future.
    With my bladder attended to, i returned to the Brigadoon, to find a huge line outside. I went to the end of it.
    "Is this for Dick Dynamite: 1944?" i asked.
    "YEAH!" the man at the end replied, with an unexpected swagger in his voice. He immediately looked back at his phone, and called somebody. We didn't speak again.
    As the line moved up to the doors just outside of Sala Llevant, i noticed there were several signs posted saying "No entry after the screening begins." No wonder that staff member had been so annoyed with me.
    I found a seat on the far edge of the second row. This theater is so small that the extreme front edges don't even distort the screen very much, so it was fine.
    The director, Robbie Davidson, came up to introduce the film. He talked about how this film was funded through Kickstarter, with a total budget of about $10,000. Even with that budget, which doesn't even qualify as "microbudget," this is literally what they call a "no-budget" film, they'd managed to score a Game of Thrones actor (though he didn't say who, and i didn't recognize anyone), plus several celebrity cameos by famous musicians. Our man Robbie Davidson is a touring musician by trade, so he happens to have a lot of connections. He said that, while shooting, he would literally call the local venues and get in touch with whatever bands were playing that day, and ask if they wanted to be in a zombie Nazi film. "Most of them said, 'Hell yeah!,' and just came down to hang out and be a character for the day, for free."

    It's easy to recognize Nick Oliveri from Queens of the Stone Age as a random prisoner for half a minute. There's a scene where Dick Dynamite is talking to an army general, and i didn't realize until the end of the scene, when the general looks up and says, "Let's start a war," that it was the guy from Electric Six. Which, come on, pure cheese to have a famous rock star in your movie and then have him say a line from one of his most famous songs, but i guess it worked. Although, looking at IMDB now, i'm having difficulty verifying that it was, in fact, the guy from Electric Six. Well, whoever it was, he sure does look and sound like that guy.
    The movie was alright. At times it's very funny, at other times, the jokes are soggy turds, but all in all, they managed to do a lot with a $10,000 budget. Effects and production value-wise, this looks like an Asylum film, and i don't mean that in a bad way; i think Asylum's budgets tend to be in the $200,000 - $300,000 range, although Asylum shoots their films in 4-6 days, and this movie took five years. Part of that was due to the pandemic, though.
    Script-wise, though, this movie couldn't be further from what The Asylum does, though. The script is far from original, but it is just one over-the-top absurd scene after another, a raucous fever dream through the hammiest 1980s action flicks imaginable. It's like if you took the Rambo scene from Weird Al's UHF and planted it in a pot with a steady clean water supply, a perfect amount of sunlight, Miracle-Gro, and cocaine. You thought you planted basil but it was Audrey II as puppeteered by Raul Julia's M. Bison.
    I will definitely watch this movie again, i have friends i need to inflict it upon, while drinking and/or imbibing other substances.
    The director had tried to get a Q&A after the film, but the organizers shut him down, so he told people to just meet him in the hallway with our Q's. I didn't, of course, but somehow i crossed paths with him three or four times before i was away from the building.
    I made for the train station. It was not yet 9:00. I was not getting left on that platform all fuckin' night again.
    The R2S, the train i need, blew past me on the tracks when i was just a block from the station. Guess i'll be waiting 20 minutes for the next one. At least i can be pretty confident there will actually *BE* a next one in 20 minutes.
    I checked the schedules when i got there. There was no way that the R2S i'd just seen was on time. I'd just seen it two or three minutes ago, it was scheduled to leave almost 12 minutes ago. So i guess the train will arrive whenever the train arrives. As trains are wont to do in Spain, i guess.
    Remarkably, the next R2S did arrive precisely on time. And i was off, heading back to my hostel! Hooray!!
    I am still annoyed by the train situation overall, though. Like, there are still a lot of screenings going on well after i have to leave the city. I guess Spider-One from Powerman 5000 directs movies now? It shouldn't be a surprise; he's spent the last few decades building a career out of following in his big brother Rob Zombie's footsteps, i just didn't know. Anyway, he has a movie at the festival, i guess it's his third, but the screening starts at 11:30pm and it's two hours long. It says "with special guests," so i have to assume that Spider himself is here and will be doing the introduction. But if i go to that screening, it would end at 1:30, and i would be twenty minutes away from the train station as the last ride back to Barcelona leaves. And that sucks.

As we pulled into Barcelona Sants, the main train station, where i'd come in from on the first day and where i'd ended in the wee hours last night and had to walk from, an announcement came over the PA in the train, only in Spanish. I watched the other passengers carefully, to see if it was something i needed to worry about. Almost everyone got off, but a few people stayed on, so i thought maybe i was fine. Then there was another announcement, and all of those people then left the train. I was about to do the same, but then a woman boarded and sat down in my car, so i thought maybe it was fine.
    Then the lights went out. i stood up. The lights came back on. The woman didn't react.
    I got up to go check the outside, to see if the marquee had changed to indicate it was out of service. It had not. I got back on the train.
    Right as i re-seated myself, i looked out the window to see the next platform over. Another R2 had just arrived. I couldn't tell if it was the R2S or the R2N, but both go to Passeig de Gràcia, so either way, it would work.
    I got back up, and headed for the door, which had now closed. I pushed the button to open it.
    Nothing.
    I pushed again. And again. Harder.
    It wasn't working.
    I saw movement in the next car, so i approached the adjoining door. A man made eye contact with me, then opened the doors between them.
    "The train isn't working, you have to get off and go to the next one," he said.
    "Oh, okay, thank you," i said. "The door's not working."
    "Okay, let me get that." He triggered the manual override, but it still wasn't opening. "Can you pull on this handle?" he asked. I obliged, pulling the right door right while he pulled the left door left. Together, we got it open enough for a person to pass through.
    "Thank you," i said. "There's someone else down there, too," i said, pointing down the stairs to the seating area i'd just left, since that woman was still there.
    "Okay, i will get them," he said.
    I left the train and walked across the platform...just in time to see that R2 speed away.
    Fuck.
    It can never just be easy, can it? The R2 should take me directly between Passeig de Gràcia and Sitges. No complaints on that direction, but the reverse has been a huge pain in the ass every time so far.
    The R2 that just pulled away also did not align with any of the time schedules on the departure board. The next scheduled train was an R2N, in 14 minutes. I found a spot and waited.
    Miraculously, it arrived on time.
    Passeig de Gràcia was literally the next stop.
    Alright! I made it!
    I came up from the underground on the opposite side of the street from where i'd started, which isn't so bad; i can never figure out where i'm going while i'm underground, sometimes i exit stations two blocks away from where i expect to be.
    Should i get some food? I probably should. I haven't had much today. There's a place called Tapas Tapas right here, with outdoor seating, and plenty of people still eating. That looks convenient.
    Eh. It's only 10:20, i should still be able to just get something cheap at the hostel's bar, if i hurry.
    I got up to the 2nd floor and found a "back in 5 minutes" sign on the bar. An employee was coming through the bar, telling us that we still had time to get to the rooftop if we wanted to join the pub crawl.
    "Actually, i was just wondering if there was still time to get some food," i said.
    "Um. There should be. I don't know. I don't know where she went," she said, indicating the bar. "Probably just having a smoke! I'll ask her if i see her!"
    Within a minute, the bartender returned.
    "Go ask her!" the other employee urged.
    I approached the bar. She made eye contact, but did not seem enthused.
    "Hi," i said. "I was just wondering if it's too late to get some food."
    "Yes," she said. "We stop making food at 10. And the bar closes at 11."
    "Okay," i said. "Can i just get, like, a rum and coke?"
    "We close at 11," she reiterated. "Will you be done drinking it by then?" It was 10:40.
    "Yeah," i said. I could make that happen.
    She served me a huge wine glass with ice and rum, just like the Mexican place over by the first hostel. "Regular Coke?" she asked.
    "Uh. Coke Zero if you have it," i said. She handed me a can of that, without opening it.
    Alright. So this is the second time i've been served a rum and coke i needed to assemble myself, both times in Barcelona.
    I sat down to finish my log and drink that drink, not actually sure i wanted to chug this whole thing in 20 minutes. Somehow i did, though, and i got my movie reviews from yesterday posted. The bar closed right as i was finishing up the drink.
    I thought about just grabbing a candy bar from the vending machine and sitting on the floor, but i'd only had the one burger all day, plus a few small snacks. I could really use nutrition.
    I went outside and checked Maps to see what was nearby. Even without filtering for "open now" and setting a price range, Tapas Tapas across the street did not come up. There were still people on the patio. I searched for it directly.
    There it is. Open until midnight, €10-20 range. Perfect.
    I examined the menus on their boards for a second, then found an open table outside, and sat down, making eye contact with the man that i assumed was the host. He turned and went inside.
    A few minutes later, a different waiter saw me, and walked up, speaking Spanish. I told him i only speak English, and he said, "You have to go inside."
    So i did. Everyone seemed to be ignoring me in there, though. Eventually, that same waiter found me. "One?" i said.
    "One, over here," he said, seating me at one of the two bars. "We close in twenty minutes, though." It was 11:10. I should have 50 minutes. He probably meant that they stop serving in twenty minutes.
    "Is that enough time to get some food?" i asked.
    He shrugged. "Ehh. What do you want to drink?"
    "Uhh," i said, trying to think. "Rum and Coke?"
    "Sure," he said.
    "Actually, i'm ready to order," i said. There was a placemat at the bar, with pictures of the menu items. I couldn't remember the names of what i wanted, so i fumbled for a minute, but then i successfully pointed at the things. I got some tapas, obviously; i don't remember the names of them now, i'd intended to take a picture of the menu board as soon as i was back outside, but i forgot. I got some french fries covered in a truffle mayo and some other things, and some tiny little sandwiches. Everything was delicious. They also served me the rum and Coke separately.

    He told me what kind of rum it was, but i don't remember. It was incredibly delicious, though, so i really wish i knew. Well, it's right across the street from the hostel, and i'm here for a week yet. I may need to make another Tapas Tapas run.
    Back at the hostel, i sat in my little corner of the hallway again, finishing off my log and my daily water, while Drew scolded me over Discord to go to bed.