José Luis Guerín
Encyclopedia
José Luis Guerín is a Spanish
filmmaker and educator, known for his meditative and intellectually curious work in both documentary
and narrative filmmaking.
Describing Guerín in an introduction to a series of his films, the programmers of the Harvard Film Archive
wrote: "Guerín's films purposefully confound narrative and documentary
traditions, discovering rich narrative threads woven into the tapestries of his real life subjects and unraveling mysteries without solutions that nevertheless leave the viewer deeply satisfied."
, Guerín attended many film screenings, made films on Super 8 and 16mm and sought out and befriended many of the filmmakers he admired, including Robert Bresson
, Raoul Ruiz
and Philippe Garrel
. Guerín's films are often described as being influenced by the Lumière Brothers, Howard Hawks
, Yasujiro Ozu
and John Ford
(Guerín went so far as to shoot a film in Innisfree
, the setting of Ford's The Quiet Man
).
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
filmmaker and educator, known for his meditative and intellectually curious work in both documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
and narrative filmmaking.
Describing Guerín in an introduction to a series of his films, the programmers of the Harvard Film Archive
Harvard Film Archive
The Harvard Film Archive is a film archive devoted to cinema located in the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It maintains a collection of over 9000 films and related documents, and regularly screens films in its 210 seat theater...
wrote: "Guerín's films purposefully confound narrative and documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
traditions, discovering rich narrative threads woven into the tapestries of his real life subjects and unraveling mysteries without solutions that nevertheless leave the viewer deeply satisfied."
Influences
As a young cinephileCinephile
Kenny Inglis and Susan Wallace are the duo behind Cinephile, a trip-hop band from Glasgow famous for the song "What Becomes of Us ?" which was played during an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation....
, Guerín attended many film screenings, made films on Super 8 and 16mm and sought out and befriended many of the filmmakers he admired, including Robert Bresson
Robert Bresson
-Life and career:Bresson was born at Bromont-Lamothe, Puy-de-Dôme, the son of Marie-Élisabeth and Léon Bresson. Little is known of his early life and the year of his birth, 1901 or 1907, varies depending on the source. He was educated at Lycée Lakanal in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, close to Paris, and...
, Raoul Ruiz
Raoul Ruiz
Raúl Ernesto Ruiz Pino was a Chilean filmmaker.Ruiz spent some years at the Catholic University of Santa Fe, Argentina's cinema school. Back in Chile, he directed his first feature film Tres tristes tigres in the late 1960s, winning the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival...
and Philippe Garrel
Philippe Garrel
Philippe Garrel is a French director, cinematographer, screenwriter, editor and producer. His movies have won him awards at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival and Venice Film Festival...
. Guerín's films are often described as being influenced by the Lumière Brothers, Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
, Yasujiro Ozu
Yasujiro Ozu
was a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed during the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work...
and John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
(Guerín went so far as to shoot a film in Innisfree
Innisfree
Innisfree may refer to:* Innisfree, a fictional village in Ireland. The film The Quiet Man takes place here.* Isle of Innisfree , a song recorded many times since 1950, about an exile thinking on his Irish home...
, the setting of Ford's The Quiet Man
The Quiet Man
The Quiet Man is a 1952 American Technicolor romantic comedy-drama film. It was directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Victor McLaglen and Barry Fitzgerald. It was based on a 1933 Saturday Evening Post short story by Maurice Walsh...
).
Awards
His film Under Construction (En construcción) won the Special Prize of the Jury in the San Sebastián Film Festival in 2001 and the Goya Prize as Best Documentary in 2002.Filmography
- Unas fotos en la ciudad de Sylvia (2007)
- En la ciudad de SylviaEn la Ciudad de SylviaEn la Ciudad de Sylvia/Dans la Ville de Sylvia is a 2007 film directed by José Luis Guerín.Almost entirely devoid of dialogue, the film follows a young man credited only as 'El' as he wanders central Strasbourg in search of Sylvia, a woman he asked for directions in a bar several years...
(In the City of Sylvia) (2007) - En construcción (2001)
- Tren de sombras (1997)
- City LifeCity LifeCity Life may refer to:* Urban culture, the culture of cities* CityLife , a 2004 urban project in Milan* City Life , a 1994 musical work by Steve Reich* City Life , a New Zealand soap opera...
(1990) - InnisfreeInnisfree (film)Innisfree is a 1990 Spanish documentary film directed by José Luis Guerín. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. The film documents the filming of the John Ford film The Quiet Man.-Cast:...
(1990)