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[FILM] Pere Portabella - A Survey

Francisco Rabal and Silvia Pinal in Luis Buñuel's VIRIDIANA.  Credit: Janus Films.  Playing 4/24 - 4/30.

In conjunction to the retrospective of the painter Joan Miró, the Tate Modern in London is showing a survey of films by the Catalan director Pere Portabella. His films, many made alongside his frequent collaborator Luis Buñuel, are distinct, revolutionary testaments to individual freedom and liberty in the ugly face of tyranny–namely General Francisco Franco.  "Portabella's radical experimentation with the limits and conventions of image, sound and genre is echoed in his eloquent critique of state repression and political indifference. His use of structural materialist devices to loosen the bond between image and referent serves to focus the viewer's attention on their role in the political and cultural processes of the circulation of meaning." On view at the Tate Modern until July 31, 2011. www.tate.org.uk