As a seasoned viewer of various cinematic masterpieces, I must admit that “The New Years” has left a profound impact on me. The series, with its unique blend of cinematographic style and intricate storytelling, truly stands out from the crowd. The way it captures the nuances of relationships, the ebb and flow of emotions, and the passage of time is nothing short of remarkable.
Amidst a global trend of reduced TV production commissions, Spanish TV industry has managed to hold its ground quite robustly. Consequently, one of the most highly anticipated new series at Mipcom will be Rodrigo Sorogoyen‘s “The New Years” (“Los años nuevos”).
The New Years,” an original production by Movistar Plus+ and Caballo Films (“La Ruta,” “The Wailing”), is a project co-founded by the rising Madrid production company Sorogoyen, in partnership with Arte France. This film continues in the footsteps of Sorogoyen’s previous work, “The Beasts,” which solidified his reputation as one of Europe’s most promising young directors in the top echelon of filmmaking.
In 2023, not many other films, like “The Beasts,” would have managed to win the Best Foreign Film César award, outdoing four winners from the Cannes Festival 2022-23: “Triangle of Sadness,” “EO,” “Close,” and “Boy from Heaven.” This is a unique feat because not many films can boast such an accomplishment.
Externally launched by Movistar Plus+ International beyond Spain and France, “The New Years” made its world debut at the Venice Film Festival in August, sharing the spotlight with fresh series from Alfonso Cuarón, Thomas Vinterberg, and Joe Wright. Numerous Spanish reviewers have acclaimed it as the standout Spanish series of 2021.
The series “The Beasts” explores the theme of conflict resolution, featuring two distinct storylines. Co-created by Sara Cano (“Angela”) and Paula Fabra (“A Private Affair”), this innovative production, titled “The New Years,” employs a unique narrative structure. Director Jon Goyen confirms that the entire series will be screened at the Valladolid Film Festival and subsequently released in Spanish cinemas across Spain from November 28th, before its digital premiere on Movistar Plus+.
The structure being discussed enables one to ponder over changes, as stated by Domingo Corral, Director of Fiction and Entertainment at Movistar Plus+, during his speech at Series Mania, when he announced their collaboration with Arte France.
New Year’s Eve” presents the question of how much individuals evolve or purge their inner demons, as it illustrates a familiar romantic paradox: the very traits that draw Ana and Oscar together – her impulsiveness, knack for living in the present, his steadiness – also have the potential to disrupt their relationship. Sorogoyen infuses this series with a unique blend of sub-genres, where each episode showcases a different tone. The first episode is a cute encounter between the couple, while the second episode focuses on the recognition of love. The third episode takes on a romantic comedy feel, the fourth delves into family drama, and the fifth introduces a horror-infused disruption. After this, there are five additional episodes, one from his perspective (Ep. 6), another from hers (Ep. 7), as they contemplate reconciling.
Indeed, as Sorogoyen emphasizes, “The New Year’s” is essentially a story about a couple that evolves into a reflection of life: Acquaintances disappear, a loved one passes away, new lives emerge, and relationships dissolve.
Scenes are filmed with a simple, realistic style and a characteristic of director Jonás Trueba to build up scenes that culminate in an impressive, extended single shot spanning 40 minutes in Episode 10.
Prior to the Spanish premiere of “The New Years” at Valladolid, EbMaster had a conversation with Sorogoyen. This highly anticipated series is expected to be one of the main attractions at the festival.
The New Year’s series employs an eloquent technique of continuity across episodes, yet its presentation is entirely cinematic…
Television provides the opportunity for creating extended films. In my opinion, “The New Years” is essentially two feature-length movies, each about 180 and 220 minutes long, similar to “The Best of Youth.” While some TV series extend their storylines to meet a specific running time, in our case, we have a meticulously crafted script that ensures every minute is significant, so nothing is padded or unnecessary.
The movie captures significant phases in a relationship, including the initial surprise of separation, the pure joy and effortlessness of being in love’s early stages, as well as the initial signs of strain…
We discussed crucial points we needed to cover, however, these aren’t necessarily confined within the series itself. Each episode lasts no more than 24 hours, so there are 364 days between one episode and the next. This means we had to create nine additional scripts, detailing events that take place in-between, many of which involve significant moments like when characters start living together (in this case, between Episode 3 and Episode 4). The audience doesn’t witness these transitional periods directly, but can infer them and observe the aftermath days or months later in Episode 4. It’s quite challenging for a key relationship event to occur on New Year’s Eve. Yet, finding ways to work around this obstacle made the process enjoyable.
The episodes vary a lot in tone, pace…
The dominant tone leans towards naturalism or at least feels authentic. However, we aimed for each episode to stand out distinctly. For instance, the fourth episode depicts a family gathering for New Year’s Eve dinner and features continuous dialogue among five characters, while the following one, set in Berlin, focuses on both an outer and inner journey and is characterized by silences. Our intention was to give each episode its unique character and setting.
It’s notable that the most developed male characters, Oscar and Guille, are both fragile…
We aimed to create engaging characters, and modern-day intriguing males often possess a unique blend of sensitivity, vulnerabilities, and flaws that mirror contemporary realities.
Another theme is communication, or the lack of it….
Communication challenges are a significant source of disputes in relationships.
Every year on a specific day, “New Year’s Day” often sparks conversations about the progression of time and whether people truly undergo changes. The movie suggests that indeed, they do.
Absolutely, as with most people, Ana’s maturation is a continuous process throughout her life, leading her to eventually discover her niche in the world.
Guillermo Arriaga, the Mexican filmmaker, believed it’s essential to express briefly the essence of one’s creative work.
Although I may be hesitant to categorize our work too strictly, I would describe it as “The New Years” exploring the journey of a couple, yet gradually delving into the broader aspects of life. Initially, you’re drawn into their romantic story from episodes 1-3, and I trust you find it enjoyable. However, as the series progresses, the couple becomes less central, and the narrative shifts to focus on her experiences, his, motherhood, loss of loved ones, drifting friendships, and personal identity crises such as questioning one’s purpose or feeling compelled to achieve something in life.
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2024-10-18 09:47