Las Meninas is a 2008 Ukrainian film directed by Ihor Podolchak

Ihor Podolchak

Ihor Podolchak is a Ukrainian film director, painter, printmaker, photographer and graphic designer. Podolchak was born in Lviv, Ukraine and studied at the Lviv Academy of Fine Arts , graduating in 1984 with distinction.Artist, creator of numerous projects in the field of visual art, winner of 25...

.

Plot synopsis

The film is about what the routine of everyday life can do to the human mind and psyche. It also reflects on the importance of the choices we make and how limited these choices are in the first place. The plot evolves around a family of four. They live in the suburbs, in a strange villa that appears, through a complex game of mirrors, to be more like a piece of installation art

Installation art

Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...

 than a real house. The main character, who hardly appears on screen, is the son, a man in his thirties. Suffering from asthma

Asthma

Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...

 and eczema

Eczema

Eczema is a form of dermatitis, or inflammation of the epidermis . In England, an estimated 5.7 million or about one in every nine people have been diagnosed with the disease by a clinician at some point in their lives.The term eczema is broadly applied to a range of persistent skin conditions...

 since childhood, he uses his condition to manipulate his parents and his sister. Thus the existence of the terrorized family turns into an endless ritual of attempting to satisfy his whims, and always on the alert for yet another one of his “health crises”.

Las Meninas resembles the scattered pieces of a puzzle

Puzzle

A puzzle is a problem or enigma that tests the ingenuity of the solver. In a basic puzzle, one is intended to put together pieces in a logical way in order to come up with the desired solution...

. It is up to the viewer to assemble them in order to form his very own picture – something that makes the film itself personal and unique.

Cast

• Mykola Veresen as Father, Second Father, Young Father
• Lyubov Tymoshevska as Mother
• Hanna Yarovenko as Daughter
• Dmytro Chernyavsky as Son
• Ilona Arsentyeva as Daughter (girl)
• Stas Arsentyev as Son (boy)
• Viktoriya Ulyanchenko as Young Mother
• Valeriya Ulyanchenko as Young Mother

Sources

• AJA KONA 3 Enables Post Production for 'Las Meninas. Grass Valley, CA, September 4, 2008, aja.com
• Matamoros C. ¡Viva el cine de los márgenes! Mirades de Cine, número 81 — diciembre 2008
• Бейкер Марія. Роттердам смотрит кино из Украины и Казахстана. Radio BBC, January 23, 2008
• Воропаєв C. Українці на Роттердамському фестивалі: почин дорожчий за гроші. culture.unian.net, 02.02.2008
• Гузьо Г. Ігор Подольчак: «У Роттердамі мій фільм відзначили як один із найбільш художніх». Lviv, Newspaper «Vysoky Zamok», № 21(3670) 05.02.2008
• Космолінська Наталка. Ігор Подольчак, Ігор Дюрич: У тому, що Україну представлятимуть галичани, є історична справедливість. Lviv, Newspapeer «Postup/Brama» — № 28(686)
• Корниенко C. Las Meninas. Очень авторский фильм. svobodanews.ru, 19.02.08
• Куровець, Ольга. Las Meninas: «Обережно, артхаус!»" Kyiv, Magazine «Тelekrytyka», 15-06-2009
• Купінська, Анна. Українська «Las meninas»: кілька мотивів Веласкеса, life.pravda.com.ua, 07.10.2009
• Купінська, Анна. Десять українських фільмів до річниці незалежності, life.pravda.com.ua, 24.08.2011
• Ложкина, Алиса. Я мало думаю о зрителе Kyiv, magazine «Top10», Sep., 2009
• Мельник Л. Працюю з класичними елементами, як із власними. Lviv, newspaper, «Lvivska Gazeta», № 11 (319) January 30, 2008
• Пеленська О. Кінострічка про європейця. Lvvi, newspaper, «Lvivska Gazeta», № 95 (403), August 7, 2008
• Пидгороа-Гвяздовский, Ярослав. Художник и режиссер Игорь Подольчак: «Свой новый фильм снимаю только за собственные деньги» Kyiv, газета «Zerkalo nedeli», № 37 (765) 3 — 9 октября 2009
• Плахов Андрій. Роттердамские угодники. Moscow, newspaper «Кommersant», № 16/П(3833), 04.02.2008
• Сидор-Гібелінда О. Файні хлопці з Бендершадту. Kyiv, magazine «Fine Art», #2, 2008
• Шпилюк Алік. Игорь Подольчак покоряет голландские высоты. Кyiv, newspapeer «Kommersant Ukraine», № 8 23.01.2008, СР
• Las Meninas Ігора Подольчака завтра дебютує в Роттердамі. Kinokolo.ua
• Художник Ігор Подольчак та його кіно. format.ua
• Sanders R. Recensie. movie2movie.nl

External links

• Official cite
• Las Meninas at Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
  
  
• Las Meninas at Columbia University
  Columbia University
  Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
  
  
• Ihor Podolchak at Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...