Dragonflies (film)

Dragonflies[1] (Spanish: Libélulas) is a 2022 Spanish drama film directed by Luc Knowles in his feature film debut which stars Milena Smit and Olivia Baglivi.

Dragonflies
Theatrical release poster
SpanishLibélulas
Directed byLuc Knowles
Written byLuc Knowles
Starring
  • Milena Smit
  • Olivia Baglivi
  • Pol Hermoso
  • Marina Esteve
  • Javier Collado
  • Berta Sánchez
  • Gonzalo Herrero
  • Aramis Baglivi
  • Lei Lei Wu
  • Rakel Brel
  • Gala Ramón
CinematographyIván Sánchez
Edited byRocío Pérez Lavilla
Production
company
Clapham Films
Distributed byBegin Again Films
Release dates
  • 23 March 2022 (2022-03-23) (Málaga)
  • 16 September 2022 (2022-09-16) (Spain)
CountrySpain
LanguageSpanish

Plot

The plot follows the story of two friends, Cata and Alex, who develop escapist plans about fleeing from their homes in an undeterminate location in the outskirts of Madrid, a seemingly idyllic but actually decaying place.[2]

Cast

Production

The film is a Clapham Films production.[7] It was shot in locations of the province of Segovia and the Madrid region.[3] Iván Sánchez worked as cinematographer.[8]

Release

Included in the 'Zonazine' slate of the 25th Málaga Film Festival, Dragonflies was presented at the Albéniz Theatre on 23 March 2022.[9][10] Distributed by Begin Again Films,[7] it was theatrically released in Spain on 16 September 2022.

Reception

Beatriz Martínez of Fotogramas rated the film 4 out of 5 stars highlighting the chemistry between Smit and Baglivi as the best thing about the film.[11]

Manuel J. Lombardo of Diario de Sevilla rated the film 2 out of 5 stars, assessing that Knowles' debut feature "smells too much like a photocopy of numerous [common] places in American indie cinema", otherwise incorporating themes of lumpen sorority and escapist desires, a forced criminal-police subplot and a flamenco-electro soundtrack that underpin a "new and artificial" product.[12]

Paula Arantzazu Ruiz of Cinemanía rated it 3 out 5 stars observing that "were it not for the interpretative tête-à-tête of its actresses, [Knowles'] proposal would not advance much further than the author's previous musical video for the song 'Wondering'".[13]

Josu Eguren of El Correo rated the film 1 out of 3 stars, considering that below "the laconic and nihilistic surface of the dialogues" held by the protagonists, the film is based on "such a fragile aesthetic pose" that it threatens to fall apart upon Knowles' attempt to introduce some drops of thriller in the mix.[14]

Luis Martínez of El Mundo rated Dragonflies 3 out of 5 stars, deeming it to be "an incomplete, uneven and slightly pretentious film", yet also "perfectly alive", otherwise highlighting the helmer's ability "to create a strange and slightly impostured universe, as much his own as delicate".[15]

Accolades
Year Award CategoryNominee(s) ResultRef.
202225th Málaga Film FestivalBest Actress ('Zonazine' section)Milena Smit & Olivia BagliviWon[16]
Audience Award ('Zonazine' section)Won

See also

References
  1. Nicola, Gabriele; Cabeza, Elisabet; Mitchell, Wendy; Macna, Geoffrey (17 May 2022). "Cannes 2022: the buzz titles from Italy, Spain and the Nordics". ScreenDaily.
  2. "Llega al cine "Libélulas", un retrato de una huida en busca de la libertad". La Vanguardia. 15 September 2022.
  3. Úbeda-Portugués, Alberto (14 September 2022). "Los estrenos del 16 de septiembre. 'Libélulas'. Plan de huida". Aisge.
  4. "Ibicine proyecta 'Libélulas' con Olivia Baglivi y Milena Smit, triunfadoras en el Festival de Málaga". Noudiari. 8 April 2022.
  5. "Libélulas". premiosgoya.com. Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  6. "25 Festival de Málaga. Guía de programación". Festival de Málaga. p. 18.
  7. Sánchez Segura, Marco (13 September 2022). "'Libélulas' – estreno en cines 16 de septiembre". Audiovisual451.
  8. Silvestre, Juan (17 February 2022). "'Libélulas': Cartel, en primicia, de la nueva película de MIlena Smit". Fotogramas.
  9. San Martín, Claudia (24 March 2022). "Luc Knowles, sobre 'Libélulas': «Me dijeron: 'Tú escribe y ya veremos', y después todo se cumplió»". Diario Sur – via Grupo Vocento.
  10. "Smit y Baglivi, las 'libélulas' de Luc Knowles". La Opinión de Málaga. Prensa Ibérica. 24 March 2022.
  11. Martínez, Beatriz (16 September 2022). "Crítica de 'Libélulas', la joya indie de Milena Smit y Olivia Baglivi". Fotogramas.
  12. Lombardo, Manuel J. (17 September 2022). "Tics de la mala vida suburbial". Diario de Sevilla. Grupo Joly.
  13. Ruiz, Paula Arantzazu (13 September 2022). "Crítica de 'Libélulas'". Cinemanía – via 20minutos.es.
  14. Eguren, Josu (20 September 2022). "Crítica de 'Libélulas' (2022): El no futuro". El Correo. Grupo Vocento.
  15. Martínez, Luis (15 September 2022). "Libélulas: elogio de la fragilidad". Metrópoli. Unidad Editorial – via El Mundo.
  16. "Palmarés del 25 Festival de Málaga Cine en Español". Diario Sur. Grupo Vocento. 26 March 2022.
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