The Critic: A Portrait of Carlos Boyero
The documentary The Critic offers a piercing look at Carlos Boyero, a towering voice in Spanish film criticism for decades. It presents a calculated portrait of a writer whose outspoken instinct has sparked ongoing debate, tracing how his visceral approach to cinema shaped the craft across generations. Set to premiere on TCM on October 21, the film is directed by Juan Zavala, a filmmaker whose lifelong passion for cinema has connected him with major European festivals and who helps drive a broader conversation about film culture. The documentary invites viewers to consider how a critic can spark dialogue and challenge convention, placing Boyero within a larger history of Spanish cinema journalism.
Boyero emerges as a provocateur who treats controversy as a tool. He started his career writing about late-night culture in a city guide, and when Fernando Trueba briefly left a gap in film criticism, Boyero stepped in. His method centers on judging a film by its ability to move, engage, intrigue, or provoke the viewer. He prioritizes an instinctive, gut response over formal analysis, a stance that has defined much of his work and, by extension, shaped the field as a whole. This instinct-driven approach stands in contrast to more methodical, analytic traditions, revealing a broader tension within criticism between immediacy and rigor.
One moment that became emblematic for many observers occurred at a Class A Festival screening when Boyero paused the film to share his thoughts. The interruption sparked a storm of response from some filmmakers, who felt compelled to speak out publicly, and letters from prominent figures to the festival director and the press protested the act. The documentary recounts these events in detail, exposing the pressures, personalities, and power dynamics that accompany criticism at cinema’s highest levels. It also highlights a notable disagreement with Pedro Almodóvar, whose work has sometimes been controversial or polarizing in Boyero’s assessment, adding another layer to ongoing conversations about taste and influence in the industry.
The film stands out for its diverse testimonies from colleagues across the spectrum. Some interviewees praise Boyero’s fearless voice, while others criticize him as misogynistic, retrograde, or out of touch. Through these perspectives, the documentary offers a nuanced portrait of a public intellectual who polarizes audiences yet remains central to the history of Spanish film criticism. The result is a candid, richly detailed examination that invites viewers to weigh the balance between candor and sensitivity. By presenting multiple viewpoints, the piece grounds its portrait in context, acknowledging that influence carries both praise and controversy.
Overall, The Critic emerges as a standout documentary of the season, notable not only for its subject but for its method. It blends archival material, contemporary interviews, and a careful sense of cinematic history to tell a story that feels intimate yet expansive. The film invites audiences to reflect on what it means for a critic’s words to travel across time, how reputations are built and tested, and what conversations endure when a provocative voice speaks from both margins and the mainstream. In detailing Boyero’s career, the documentary also captures a broader portrait of how film discourse evolves, how fame intersects with accountability, and how critical legacies are negotiated in the public sphere. [Citation: The Critic, director Juan Zavala, contemporary cinema culture scholars]