“Saturn Return” - Spain 2024 Oscar Submission Film Review
The ’90s were the heyday of shoegaze-y indie rock bands around the world. If you had some friends, some instruments, and a tape recorder, you could make an album. Only a few of those garage bands make it to the big leagues, but Los Planetas proved to be one of them. Isaki Lacuesta’s Saturn Return (Segundo premio) is a fantastical take on the musical biopic. Saturn Rising does not conform to the standard expectations of movies that show the creation of musicians and their rise to fame. In fact, the movie opens by saying “This is a film about the legend of Los Planetas.” A legend transcends reality and that’s what Saturn Return does as well.
The real Los Planetas band was formed by Juan, Florentino, and May. Their first album was a huge hit, but their second less so. Saturn Return finds the band struggling to record their third album. At this point, May has left the band to return to university. Without her, Juan and Florentino are a little rudderless. They know she was a unifying force and, in her absence, the two grapple with the future of the band. Saturn Return is a unique take on the story of Los Planetas because only May (Stéphanie Magnin) is referred to by name. The rest of the bandmates are credited solely as the instruments they play. There’s the singer (Daniel Ibáñez), guitar player (Cristalino), drummer (Mafo), and bassist (Chesco Ruiz).
courtesy of Outsider Pictures
Like music, Saturn Return is less concerned about getting all the facts right and more about capturing the feelings of this moment in time. Los Planetas rose to fame during the end of the ’90s in Granada, Spain, where a cultural boom is taking place. The film relies heavily on voiceover, which would usually be a source of friction, a means of creating a separation between the characters and the audience. In Saturn Return, though, it’s the opposite. Through these voiceovers, the band members are able to be honest about what happened. Or, at the very least, be honest about their emotions, even if they disagree with each other about the circumstances. Saturn Return is guided by the lofty, all-consuming emotions that come with being young and in love with people in a multitude of ways. It’s not merely romantic love, but something deeper. A love that’s born out of creating something together, friendship, and years of familiarity.
Even if the viewer isn’t aware of Los Planetas prior to seeing the film, Saturn Return makes for a compelling mix of the drama of Fleetwood Mac making Rumours and Challengers. It never appears as though the actors are trying to mimic their real-life counterparts to create a truthful retelling of the band’s history. Unlike recent American biopics of Elvis and Bob Marley, Saturn Return makes no effort to deify its subjects. Los Planetas are messy, full of contradictions, and so full of hope, and Saturn Return shows them in all their glory, for better or for worse.
As the band is working on their album, they’re told there’s not a single hit on it that’s going to get radio play. Artists are almost always stuck between making something they can be proud of and making money. Los Planetas are no different. Saturn Return puts audiences in the thick of it all and lets them see how the magic is made. Music is always about more than a hit song on the radio. It’s about the emotions behind it all.
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