Brief history of Costa Rican cinema
It is difficult to trace the history of the arrival of cinema in Costa Rica. As in neighboring Nicaragua and Panama, the first projections probably took place as early as 1897, with views brought by foreign operators. However, very quickly, Costa Rican photographers appropriated these techniques. In the 1910s, projections of national images were developed, showing the fauna, the different cities of the country, but also current events. In 1930, the first feature film shot in Costa Rica, El Retorno, arrived on the screens. Directed by the Italian A.F. Bertoni, this black and white film had many Costa Ricans in its crew. By telling a romance where the world of the city and that of the countryside are opposed, El Retorno already announces a theme that will be recurrent in the national cinema. By the way, the film uses many natural settings, such as the historical site of Ujarrás, the region of Orosi, as well as the cities of Cartago centro and San José.
To discover the first film directed by a Costa Rican, we have to go back in time to 1955. This year saw the release of the first talking film made in Costa Rica(Elvira), as well as Milagro de Amor, by filmmaker José Amboa. This work, a zarzuela strongly influenced by Spanish culture, tells the story of the love affairs of two lovebirds, alternating spoken and sung sequences, as is typical of this particular genre of Spanish-speaking cinema. At that time, Costa Rican cinema was still very attached to the customs and society of its time, tending to represent it as much in its good sides as in its darker aspects. This reflection will continue in the years 1960-1970 with strong documentaries such as La cultura del guaro by Carlos Freer (1975), now visible online. These films went further and further in their social criticism, despite the danger of a government ban on these productions. In 1976, this led to the censorship of Costa Rica: Republica Banana by filmmaker Ingo Niehaus. A director, however, supported by the Costa Rican Film Center, founded three years earlier, and who will continue to make fiction and documentary films thereafter.
In the 1980s, the still-fragile industry opened up to other genres and other stories. At first, it was the conflicts and political instability of the region that fueled regional productions and co-productions. Films such as Alsino y el cóndor by Chilean filmmaker Miguel Littin (1982) were co-produced in Costa Rica and dealt with current events such as the Zapatista Revolution and the uprisings in El Salvador. A few years later, a new trend was born among national filmmakers, in which the fantastic and local legends became a new ground for cinema. Among these, La Segua by Antonio Yglesias (1984) features the eponymous legend of La Segua, a mysterious woman who attracts travelers before turning into a horse-headed monster to devour them. But the theme of the provincial boy who discovers the city is still relevant, as proven by a film such asEulalia by Oscar Castillo (1987).
Since the 1990s, new generations of filmmakers have been trying their hand at short films, animation or even series, without necessarily succeeding in breaking out of the national market, which was already overwhelmed by American productions. Hilda Hidalgo(Del amor y otros demonios, 2009), or Hernan Jimenez(Entonces nosotros, 2016) participate in the fame of Costa Rican cinema internationally. And this, especially through platforms like Netflix, for which Jimenez produced the series Love Hard, released in 2021.
Costa Rica, movie set
Its grandiose landscapes and tax breaks have allowed Costa Rica to host many European and Hollywood film shoots, as well as big names in cinema. For example, the first seconds of Jurassic Park are shot around Isla del Coco, an idyllic national park that becomes the famous Isla Nublar in Spielberg's film. However, don't expect to see any reptiles or recognizable scenery during your trip, as the filming took place mainly in Hawaii. On the other hand, you can enjoy the local landscapes while having fun with your family in front of Spy Kids 2 by Robert Rodriguez (2002). A touching and cult saga for many fans, the second episode takes Carmen and Juni Cortez into the bowels of the Arenal volcano, in search of a scientist as crazy as he is crunchy, played by Steve Buscemi. More recently, it was director M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Old) who took Will Smith and his son Jaden Smith into the Costa Rican jungle for After Earth (2013), also about the Arenal volcano and the nearby town of La Fortuna. A futuristic drama where father and son find themselves lost on a planet Earth that humanity had to abandon a thousand years earlier, and where life has evolved, to become more hostile and dangerous. Without having been a great success at the box office, the film deserves to be seen, if only for its memorable settings.
Seeing movies in Costa Rica
With nearly 150 screens spread over the country's major cities, Costa Rica can boast a nice pool of cinemas, and a great community of moviegoers. The latter, attracted as much by American blockbusters as by local films or international art house productions, is divided between the complexes and the smaller theaters. If you are visiting San José and are in need of a movie, stop by the CINÉ Magaly, and experience a large historic theater with over 1,000 seats, in a very art deco setting. Even older, the Cine Variedades welcomes you for films in Spanish and in the original version, depending on the session. If you're lucky, you'll be able to enjoy outdoor screenings on the beaches, or immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the San José International Film Festival, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in June 2022.
