Saturday, March 21, 1:00pm
Charlotte Center City Amphitheater
Arrugas / Wrinkles
Director Ignacio Ferreras
Spain, 2014, 89 min
(also shown on March 17, UNC Charlotte Main Campus)
In Spanish with English subtitles
Introduction TBA
Based on Paco Roca’s award-winning graphic novel, Wrinkles illustrates the visual beauty and tender emotion that can be created by traditional animation as it tackles a universal subject matter with humor and acerbic wit. When former bank manager Emilio’s family sends him to a retirement home, his new roommate is a wily wheeler-dealer named Miguel who cheerfully swindles small amounts of cash from the more disoriented residents but is also full of handy insider tips that are crucial to survival. We are introduced to daily pill regimens, electric gates, and an eccentric cast of characters who rebel against institutional authority while doing everything in their power to avoid being assigned to the dreaded assisted living wing—from which there is no return. The hand-drawn animation style allows the film to move freely between the reality-bound daily lives of the ‘inmates’ and their more colorful dementia-induced fantasies, leaving plenty of room for both tears and laughter and pulling no punches in its critique of society’s attitude towards the elderly.
Reviews:
NY Times Critics’ Pick! “Unfolding in simple yet wonderfully expressive hand-drawn frames, the film’s unsparingly observant plot depicts the slide into senility with empathy and imagination.” – Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times
“Illuminating, amusing, sensitive and touching.” – Tribune
“Wrinkles, an exceptional comic book, an outstanding film.” – Gregorio Belinchón, El País