Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

El Planeta Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf February 11, 2022

Making her feature-length directorial debut, Amalia Ulman presents “El Planeta,” which is a vaguely biographical study of a young woman’s experiences with love, life, and family while spending time in Spain. Also scripting the movie, Ulman doesn’t reach for the stars with the endeavor, which remains small in scale and compellingly intimate, sharing acting duties with her real-life mother, Ale Ulman. “El Planeta” is something of a comedy, with touches of drama, landing somewhere between playful and lived-in, and it remains impressive work from Ulman, who offers assured work with the picture, establishing herself as a talent to watch.

“El Planeta” largely remains with Leonor (Amalia Ulman), a twentysomething fashion stylist who’s struggling to find employment, living with her mother, Maria (Ale Ulman), who’s slowly going broke, doing nothing to change her deteriorating living situation besides engage in petty crime. This isn’t a melodramatic tale of mother/daughter relations, but a slightly detached view of Leonor’s daily struggles, where she works up the energy to date deceptive men and deal with her mom. There’s humor to help ease viewers into this world, and Maria is a bit of an eccentric, happy to believe in the power of curses as she keeps reality at arm’s length. “El Planeta” is episodic, but fascinatingly so, as Ulman focuses on behaviors, not plotting, enjoying chances to soak up awkward meetings and roommate hassles, finding inspiration in Leonor’s dating world adventures, which carry laughs and horror in equal measure.

El Planeta Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.89:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "El Planeta" offers a crisp and bright black and white viewing experience, with excellent delineation throughout. Detail comes through as intended, with textured skin surfaces and dimensional locations, which explore city streets and beaches. Household and store decoration is also clearly identified.

El Planeta Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix is a largely frontal affair, focusing on dialogue exchanges, which remain crisp. Scoring selections and soundtrack offerings deliver a more circular listening event, with some low-end beats, and atmospherics periodically detail outdoor experiences and room tone.

El Planeta Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Booklet (18 pages) presents an interview with writer/director/actor Amalia Ulman.

• Blooper Reel (:56, HD) offers a brief showcase of laughing fits and flubbed lines.

• Photo Gallery (8:18) collects BTS snaps and atmospheric shots.

• And a Trailer (1:34, HD) is included.

El Planeta Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"El Planeta" isn't deep, but that's part of the film's charm. Ulman doesn't bite off more than she can chew with the endeavor, maintaining focus on character business and emotional issues, which are best served in small doses of wonderful acting. "El Planeta" is short and bittersweet, but it's always engaging, and there's excitement in the way Ulman takes command of the effort, preserving her style and voice (adding several biographical details to the writing) with this small slice of the human experience.