by CHRIS BARRY

Elusive serial killers. Suicidal war vets. Recovering junkie poets. These are just a few of the upbeat themes that will be explored during the 10th annual Festivalíssimo, when Cinéma du parc, Concordia and NFB unreel 70 Spanish films.

Opening the festival, director Tristán Bauer will present his depressing but poignant drama Blessed by Fire. Here we get an up-close-and-personal look at post-traumatic stress disorder. After getting the call that yet another one of his former comrades has taken his own life, the successful, middle-aged Esteban is forced to revisit the hell of fighting in the ’82 Falklands war. Cutting back and forth between the present and the 72 days it took Thatcher and co. to crush their mal-nourished and ill-equipped enemies, the film illustrates how brutalized the South American soldiers were by their own country. For instance, along with daily beatings by their commanders, some were forced to fight in tennis shoes, as there wasn’t enough in the defence budget for combat boots.

Among the other 16 entries competing in the official selection, we have the Mexican/Ecuadorian co-production Chronicles. In this crime drama, John Leguizamo (the loud runt on ER) plays a sensationalistic Miami reporter who stumbles upon an infamous child predator. Putting ego and TV ratings first, he places the case in jeopardy by trying to outsmart the suspect. It turns out, however, that the kiddy-diddling sociopath is a little smarter than our Geraldo Rivera wannabe had anticipated.

From Spain, we have the witty, understated Astronauts, which follows the unlikely friendship between a teenage runaway and a washed-up poet. In exchange for room and board, 15-year-old Laura agrees to help a strung-out wordsmith through his intense 10-step recovery program. And from Mexico, there’s Magos y gigantes, the country’s first feature-length animation. This one comes with a fully loaded plot involving an evil wizard, a helpless princess and a magical kingdom chock full of irresistible critters.

In addition to 32 Montreal premieres and 19 Canadian premieres, the festival will also screen two Brazilian classics: Anselmo Duarte’s The Given Word, the timeless and politically charged winner of the Palme D’Or at Cannes in 1962, and Glauber Rocha’s 1970 head-trip The Lion Has Seven Heads.

In the documentary department there are 14 to choose from, including Romantic. This American-made portrait of illegal immigrants focuses on the painfully homesick Carmelo. Forced to leave Mexico so he can support his family, Carmelo spends his nights performing in a mariachi band on San Francisco’s restaurant circuit. The result is a rather bleak look at one man’s lose-lose situation. As well, there’s Outros bairros, a film that penetrates the world of Portugal’s homeless teens. These “niggas” of Portugal let a team of directors in on their secret language, self-made law system and their distinct rhyming style. And from Buenos Aires comes Hotel Gondolín, where we meet the 30 transvestites who face daily run-ins with homophobic neighbours.

And finally, Mexico’s Battle in Heaven—though not a doc—is a note-worthy pick, if only for the opening scene in which the world’s ugliest cock is on full display. Consider yourself warned.

FESTIVALÍSSIMO SCREENS THURSDAY, MARCH 2–SUNDAY, MARCH 12. FOR MORE INFO, VISIT WWW.FESTIVALISSIMO.NET

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