Screening of 'Dangerous liaisons' and 'The state of the Union'

British filmmaker Stephen Frears has without doubt been one of the most influential filmmakers over recent decades, with many of his films having become cultural touchstones. His movies are known for their exploration of social class, and historical and cultural contexts, in both biographical and fictional narratives. Above all, they display their own distinctive and very personal style, making Frears a true master of the seventh art of cinema.

Dangerous Liaisons (1988; 120 minutes). A blockbuster set in pre-revolutionary France, with an all-star cast (Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Uma Thurman and Keanu Reeves) and a deliciously perverse cast. Close plays the villainous Marquise de Merteuil, who, having been dumped by her latest lover to marry the young and virtuous Cecile de Volanges, decides to take her revenge. To do so, she turns to the Viscount of Valmont, a former lover with whom she shares an appetite for the game of seduction. Valmont's mission is to corrupt the chaste Cecile. The film has won numerous awards, including three Oscars.

The State of the Union (2019; 10 minutes). TV series written by Nick Hornby and directed by Frears. It tells the story of a married couple in crisis who attend couples' counselling sessions and who, before going to the psychologist each week, meet in a pub to go through it all: the past, their differences and complicities, sex and love, infidelity, expectations and disappointments, even Brexit.

The film and the series will be presented by Irene Hernández Velasco and Marta Medina. Journalist, Hernández Velasco has worked at El Mundo, where she was correspondent in New York, Rome, London and Paris. She joined El Confidencial as is head of the culture section in 2023. Medina has been a film critic for El Confidencial since 2016 and is a regular contributor to Historia de nuestro cine on TVE 2.

The screening will be in the original English version with subtitles in Spanish