L'endemà (2014) Reviews

• Slick Production, but Lacks Substance

  spirit-of-19692015-04-26

  It starts off a little all over the place, but in the end it's to the director's credit that he tries to fit in so many devices--political speeches, a conversation in a cab, traditional doc interviews, some weird guy singing Andalus style and a series of skits. The skits acknowledge that they're obvious metaphors--which is good--but they still rarely bring home the points they're making better than the talking heads, and the choice to use non-actors hurts more than it helps. Overall, the film is consistently engaging and does a nice job pairing beautiful shots of Catalan countryside with the post-modern interview space. Substantively, though, L'Endema leaves a lot to be desired. Its title implies a serious discussion of what "the day after" independence would be like, but there is no discussion here, just a parade of interviewees promising us everything will be great. Not even one anti-independence expert is interviewed, giving the impression that the talking heads are only tearing down strawmen and not engaging with the other side's serious arguments. And that's probably the case, as the filmmakers gloss over recognition, disposition of Spanish state property, the potential flight of non- Catalan residents of Catalonia and other thorny issues. It's not that a doc can't argue a point, but when you complete neglect any counterargument, your limit your audience to the already converted.