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Brett,
Armendariz'ek dioena (is saying):
what else am I--can I be--but Basque?
zer naiz, euskalduna ezik?
JMallea

On Tue, 13 Oct 1998, Brett W Copeland wrote:

> Here is an interesting quote from Montxo Armendariz, a film
> director from Navarre, in EUSKAL ETXEAK, no.38, Year 1998,
> pg. 21:
>
>         To speak of a Basque cinema as of a cinema with
>         its own features is in my opinion unthinkable. I
>         mean a cinema industry with common aesthetics
>         and subjects, a cinema movement in the style
>         of the new German cinema, or Italian new
>         Realism, I think we cannot speak of a Basque
>         cinema in this sense.  I prefer to talk about
>         films done by Basques or produced in Euskadi,
>         where we can obviously find common aspects
>         ranging from geography itself to the habits of
>         some characters.  But in my opinion each of
>         the directors that make films in Euskadi
>         chooses different stories and tells them
>         differently and even with different aesthetics
>         and approaches.
>
> The title of this article is:  "Armendariz:  `The cinema created
> by basques is very diverse'" and it is written by Edurne Domingorena.
>
> The article mentions the following directors from the Euskadi: Victor
> Erice, Julio Medem, Alex de la Iglesia, Imanol Uribe, Juanma
> Bajo Ulloa, Daniel Calparsoro, Pedro Olea, Enrique Urbizu,
> Alfonso Ungria and Eloy de la Iglesia.
>
> Armendariz, director of "Tasio", "27 ordu", "Historias del Kronen",
> "Cartas de Alou" and "Secretos del Corazon", writes that
>
>         we are absolutely marked by a culture and an
>         education, and mine are Basque.  This is
>         something that cannot be forgotten.  I am
>         absolutely certain that the kind of cinema I
>         make and the way I tell the stories have a
>         lot to do with the culture I have received,
>         the atmosphere in which I have been educated,
>         the films I have seen, etc.
>
>         It is possible that my backgrounds and my
>         culture bend me towards some atmospheres
>         rather than others.  In that sense maybe I
>         prefer rural settings. (p.20)
>
> It seems that for Armendariz, not simply language, but "common
> aesthetics and subjects" seem foremost in his mind as necessary
> features of a truly "Basque" cinema.
>