Saturn Return

Set in the late 1990s. Art and culture are in full swing in Granada. Against that background, an indie band is about to change the music scene in Spain. Just before creating their new album. In the midst of artistic effervescence, it is time to release a third album, however, Los Planetas are at their worst moment, May, the bassist has just left the musical group, the problems with drugs appear unstoppable, for work reasons they go to New York without much success and control of their lives escapes them.

It is a film that tries to establish a portrait with partially biographical or fictional fragments of the group "Los Planetas" and filmed in a quasi-documentary style with an unknown casting. This turns out to be a tribute to musical creation, love and friendship, with the cult Indie Rock band "Los Planetas" and Granada as protagonists, as well as the creation of their album "Una Semana en el Motor del autobús" published in 1988 as the film's guiding thread. Director Lacuesta defined the film as follows: "It deals with friendship at the limit of love, teamwork, the fear of making your dreams come true, the price of ambition, the night and a story of vampires and ghosts."

The critics are sharply divided, for some critics it is a masterpiece, a transgressive film, the movie of the year, a true work of culture; however for others (with whom I agree more), it turns out to be a boring, tedious, slow film with constant chatter without much sense or interest . Segundo premio(2024 was chosen Official submission of Spain for the 'Best International Feature Film' category of the 97th Academy Awards in 2025. And winner of the award for best film, best direction and best editing in Málaga Festival 2004.

The motion picture was professionally directed by Isaki Lacuesta and Pol Rodrigez. The singular attitude in Lacuesta's works is very difficult to achieve : it is only available to solid filmmakers . Lacuesta has developed a especial filmography that includes documentary , Shorts , Movies and TV series , such as : Apagón (TV Series) , La veu latent (Short), Download Vilches (Short) ,Microscopias (Short), El acusado (TV Mini Series documentary) , El moviment perpetuo (Documentary), El cuaderno de barro (Documentary), Où en êtes-vous, Isaki Lacuesta? (Documentary short) , Un año, una noche , La próxima piel, Murieron por encima de sus posibilidades , Bajo escucha, Los pasos dobles , among others. But his big hit was : ¨Entre Dos Aguas¨ that had a peculiar realization , and , above all , in the best tradition of Italian neorealism , winning ¨The Golden Shell¨or la ¨Concha de Oro¨ at the San Sebastian Festival . And Pol Rodríguez is a writer, Second Unit Director or Assistant Directo and Director, especially known for Saturn Return (2024), Year Zero (2022) and Quatretondeta (2016). Starring José Sacristan that won the Silver Biznaga for best photography to Carles Gusi at the 19th edition of the Malaga Festival in 2016 and 2016 Nominee Golden Biznaga Best Film, Pol Rodríguez. Segundo premio(2024) rating: 4.5/10. A passable film at times, which is only recommended for fans of Indie music, but the general public will avoid it due to its slowness, boring events and excessive length.

"This is (not) a movie about The Planets." Thus reads the final part of the commercial synopsis of Saturn Return, winner of the awards for best film, direction and editing at the last Malaga Festival. Right at the beginning of the film, a label warns us that this is a film about the legend of Los Planetas, which seems much more accurate, since the film by Isaki Lacuesta and Pol Rodríguez is not the classic biopic about a rock band that glorifies the myth or delves deeply into the darkest side of the musician. No, Second Prize is the portrait of a group of friends, musicians, from Granada, who are experiencing a deep crisis before recording their third album. A very specific moment in the life of the band that blew up Spanish indie rock. "The singer" (Daniel Ibáñez), who is supposed to be J, is mired in a deep existential crisis after the departure of the group's bassist, May (Stéphanie Magnin), the only one with a name in the film, and the descent to hell because of the heroine of "The Guitarist" (Cristalino), a transcript by Florent. The comings and goings of this trio of best friends set the pace of the film, a story that navigates through surrealism and the dreamlike but without detaching itself from reality, in a Granada at the end of the 90s, which is exceptionally portrayed by the directors. . The complex and traumatic personal moment that the characters live is mixed with the obligation to record a third album to comply with the record company. And that album will be A week in the engine of a bus, the best album by Los Planetas and one of the best Spanish indie rock albums of all time, a musical masterpiece whose exquisite lyrics are perfectly used throughout the film to take the emotional pulse of the images that are happening.

The project has had a very eventful production, a fact of which there is no trace in the film. First it was going to be directed by Jonás Trueba, who distanced himself from the project due to creative differences. Later, Isaki Lacuesta had to be absent from filming to be with his daughter who was sick with leukemia, who unfortunately ended up passing away, R. I. P. None of this transcends the final result, which is a precise, seamless and very authentic work. The script, written by Lacuesta himself and screenwriter Fernando Navarro, is outstanding. The different points of view with which the story is told manage to give the film a quite special authorial essence. The tone is restrained most of the time, but other times it indulges in the poetic, lysergic and psychedelic, like the band's music.

The performances of the leading trio are all excellent, but if I may, I cannot fail to highlight Cristalino's, it is pure love, all fragility, it eats up the scenes every time it appears on screen.

Saturn Return (yes) is a film about The Planets. But, it is much more. It is a story about friendship told beautifully. It is a pure and simple generational portrait. It is the representation of Granada in one of its most artistically effervescent periods. You don't have to be a fan of Los Planetas, or have heard their songs, to delight in the history, music and images of this great cinematographic work. It is one of the best films in Spanish cinema in recent years.