10 films for a luxury travel plan in the Basque Country.
Cinema is an excellent way to take a luxury trip to the Basque Country without having to leave home. Films also help you dream up and envision your own luxury travel plan to the land of the Basques. This way, by broadening your understanding of the Basques, you can create your own personalized tours with your tour guide or travel agent. I have been designing private and personalized tours in the Basque Country for 15 years with sophisticated and demanding clients. This allows me to carefully curate these 10 films shot on Land of the Basques. Welcome to discover the Basque Country through cinema!
Bilbao, Vitoria-Gasteiz, and San Sebastián in leading roles in films
San Sebastián is the first character that, like a film script, I propose for you to make your own Basque film. It’s the location where, in the style of the designer Balenciaga, Basque glamour is best interwoven with cinema, gastronomy, Belle Époque architecture, and Basque culture. Woody Allen, with his delicate and ironic gaze, showcases it in all its splendor in “Rifkin’s Festival” (trailer in English). This romantic comedy unfolds during the filming of a movie in the midst of the San Sebastián International Film Festival. The city’s performance and presence dazzle with its beauty, art, nature, and elegance.
The cast of your imagined Basque film must include Bilbao; where gastronomy plays a more prominent role than you might imagine if you’re a foodie traveler. In “Two Many Chefs” (La vida padre – trailer, English subtitles) the emotional conflict isn’t only present in the characters’ personalities. It also appears between the father’s savory culinary traditions and the son’s exquisite haute cuisine. And in the transformation that the city and the characters undergo at the same time. It clearly demonstrates the architectural and urban transformation that Bilbao has lived. A film recommended to travelers who love gastronomy, architecture, art, comedy, values, family, and glamour.
The capital of the Basques also plays a leading role in the cast of this film, and in your experience during your visit. Vitoria–Gasteiz, medieval, but not necessarily old, has blended into the greenery of nature like Daphne. A series of murders occur during “Twin Murders: The Silence of the White City” (El silencio de la ciudad blanca – trailer, English subtitles). It is especially nice for lovers of film noir and detective novels, love, sports, mystery, history, and tradition. Vitoria-Gasteiz is much more than what you’ll see in the film: music, playing cards, medieval architecture, the environment, murals and public sculptures, and Napoleonic history can all be topics included in the personalized tour we design together for you.
The Basque Country’s Cultural and Historical Identity on the Big Screen
If your personalized travel plan to the Basque Country limits you to Bilbao, Vitoria-Gasteiz, or San Sebastian, I suggest turning your trip into a saga. Or a series. You need a more comprehensive script or plan, with new parts or chapters, to objectively understand the essence of Basque culture. Therefore, opening the knot or development of this post as a movie script, I propose a Basque cultural, historical, and mythological immersion through cinema:
- “Irati” – Basque trailer, English subtitles). A Basque film that immerses us in the ancient forests of the Irati Forest in the 8th century. Ideal for lovers of caves, forests, and wild nature within a love story steeped in Basque legends and mythology. It brings you closer to the spiritual foundation and ancestral fantasy ideals of Basque identity. The landscape sampler is photographically very carefully curated and comprehensive; including locations in the provinces of Alava, Gipuzkoa, Bizkaia, Navarre, and Huesca. I love the power of the music, the images, and the performances. With this option, you’ll get closer to what you’ll see on your exclusive tours of the Basque Country than with the next one.
- “Errementari” or “The Blacksmith and the Devil” – Basque trailer, English subtitles). The fantastic and the earthly coexist without limits in the 19th century. A blacksmith (in Basque, errementari) has a hidden secret that links him to the devil, until a little girl… A script, based on a Basque mythological tale, full of imagination and a touch of terror. It has unexpected twists and an unusual use of fire as a lighting element. Listen to it in the original version if you’re a fan of ancient languages, as it was filmed in ancient Basque. I recommend watching this film if you’re a true fan of classic, arthouse, fantasy, mythological, and horror films.
“Giant” (Handia – Basque & Spanish trailer, English subtitles) takes place in the same historical and social context as the previous film. It is the Basque film that has won the most awards at the Goyas (Spanish film awards). It is based on the real life of a person who suffered from gigantism. He was known as the Giant of Altzo (the town where he was born). His brother convinces him to make money due to its large size, which allowed him to make a fortune and travel throughout late 19th-century Europe. A thrilling historical drama centered on fame and tragedy; and the resistance to change in traditions. Faithful to Basque history and customs, it will surely inspire you to discover the people, life, and landscapes of rural life in the Basque Country.
On a personalized and exclusive cultural trip to Euskadi (Basque Country, in Basque), a visit to Guernica (Gernika in Basque) is a must. A Basque village bombed by fascist aircraft in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War. Its name has become universally recognized through Picasso’s famous painting of this event. Gernika (English trailer) is a war and human drama, with a beautiful story of love and journalism set in a historical context. It delights you with spectacular images of what Bilbao, Barakaldo, Artziniega, San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, Lekeitio, Dima, and Guernica itself looked like. Perfect for those interested in the historical, political, and social realities of the places they visit.
Cult Films from 21st-Century Basque Cinema
You’ve reached the climax of this list of Basque films to help you create your luxury travel plan to the Basque Country through cinema. I propose three films from the current century that have fueled interest in further and better developing Basque cinema. Above all, Basque cinema in Basque. All of them reveal human values and behaviors inherent to Basque social identity, taking a journey from a deeper perspective to a more superficial one.
How would you react if you received a bouquet of anonymous flowers every week? It happens to Ane, Tere, and Lourdes, and each responds in their own way. Truths, desires, fears, values, frustrations, hidden loves, repressed feelings emerge… A beautiful, intimate, poetic, and emotional story from “Flowers” (Loreak). The setting is key; beautifully achieved through the rain, fog, and light of Oiartzun, Zarautz, and San Sebastian. It is the first Basque-language film nominated for a Goya, and the most awarded nationally and internationally of all time. You don’t just enter their lives; you also enter their souls. Suitable for sensitive and emotional people with sophisticated aesthetic taste.
With “Intimacy” (Intimidad), we reach the climax of this list. Here, emotions are intimate, yet extremely public. Also based on a true story, this thriller openly shows us current Basque society. The loss of privacy explodes into a major personal, social, and political conflict after a private video is made public. Bilbao is shown as it is today from many perspectives: artistic, political, European, social, technological, cosmopolitan, and authentic. A delicious treat for those who need strong emotions through contemporary stories and conflicts.
Of course, I won’t leave you immersed in strong thoughts and emotions. Imagine drinking a txakolí (a typical Basque drink) in Bilbao to relax. Meanwhile, watch the latest offering I’ve selected for you, which is the most superficial while still touching on themes of Basque society.
I invite you to laugh with the most-watched film in Spain and around the world, with a Basque theme as its protagonist. Spanish Affair is a comedy that showcases the local stereotype that anyone with eight Basque surnames (Ocho apellidos vascos) can prove their ancestral identity. And it contrasts it with the carefree or humorous Andalusian identity. An Andalusian man falls in love with a Basque woman and goes in search of her in the Basque Country… Stunning coastal and mountain landscapes, and the farmhouses of Oiartzun and Zarautz, are perfect locations for this story. Ideal for travelers with a lighter travel plan, or those interested in Basque culture from a different perspective.
I assure you that, although I’ve been a bit intense in the text of this post, I’m aware that it’s your vacation. And my natural joy is contagious (be sure to read my clients’ comments)! I look forward to hearing from you to create your script or real-life travel plan to the Basque Country together. Or, if you prefer, let me surprise you!
Leave A Comment