Spain’s Javier Macipe On San Sebastian New Directors Title ‘The Blue Star:’ ‘Great Stories Have to Be Told Sooner or Later’

variety.com:

Holly Jones Frenetic and high-flying ‘90s rock emblem Mauricio Aznar trades his position as enigmatic frontman of Zaragoza’s Más Birras for a journey towards the soul of his craft in Spanish writer-director Javier Macipe’s highly-anticipated second feature, “The Blue Star” (“La Estrella Azul”) saw its world premiere in the New Directors strand of the San Sebastian Film Festival on Monday.

Macipe’s (“Los inconvenientes de no ser dios”) short efforts, 2014 release “Children of the River” and 2019’s “Gastos incluídos,” earned Spanish Academy Goya nominations, placing him among Variety’s 10 Spanish talents to track in 2021. “The Blue Star,” filmed in Spain’s Zaragoza and Argentina’s Santiago de Estero and Cerro Colorado, Córdoba, poetically delves into Aznar’s introspective journey to Northern Argentina, where music isn’t a mere hobby but resides in the veins, flowing effortlessly alongside lifeblood to enrich the community.

After an encounter with an aging musician – the two, worlds apart in circumstance and style – a serendipitous exchange grows as he transitions from humble observer to ebullient participant.

The film continues as Aznar travels back to Spain, ever-changed by his experience and carrying an irreconcilable longing that leaves him tethered to the memory.