Written and directed by Amalia Ulman, who also gives herself a starring role in her feature debut, El Planeta is a strange and brilliant look at a mother and daughter duo hustling their way to what they hope is a better life just beyond the next interaction. Neither main character ever seems too cunning or malicious, but . . . maybe that just goes to show how good they are at what they do.
Amalia plays Leonor, the daughter of María (played by her real mother, Ale Ulman). The two of them spend their time grifting, but never really managing to provide themselves with anything more than just the most fleeting of pleasures. That would be enough for them, in an ideal world, but this isn't an ideal world. Bills need paid and people need others to help maintain the ever-moving cogs of society.
Presented in black and white, and taking place in a modern age that we can all recognise as being on a downward spiral from some economic highs of decades past, El Planeta does a great job of observing and critiquing modern life while keeping the two main characters stuck firmly in it, despite their ongoing attempts to act as if they're not just as restricted as so many others around them.
Both Ulmans are great in their respective roles, and the two act more like siblings than mother and daughter. Director Nacho Vigalondo has fun in a cameo role, and both Zhou Chen and Carlos Carbonell do well in moments that require them to be slightly enchanted by the young lady trying to figure out her next bit of con work and/or theft.
Amalia Ulman does well to balance everything, making use of her smart writing and the winning performances from herself and her mother. We don't necessarily view the characters here as good people, but we also don't necessarily view them as being bad. They're just trying to exist in a way that feels more natural to them, which just happens to be in conflict with what the world expects of them. Ulman doesn't make any judgements, although we see moments with other characters doing that . . . which actually leads to viewers judging those doing the onscreen judging.
Maybe if things worked out the way that those with money keep insisting it should then El Planeta would have a different vibe. That hasn't happened though. We're working harder for less money, overall, and trickle-down economics doesn't seem to allow money to trickle anywhere below the 1%. So it ends up being strangely satisfying to watch people who refuse to allow their lives, or the image of their lives, to be dictated by how much money they have to hand. There may be no such thing as a victimless crime, but it's hard to condemn people for coveting, and pursuing, a lifestyle that has been sold to them every minute of every day for the last few decades.
8/10
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