David Pujol’s feature debut takes viewers on a journey through 1974 Spain, following two brothers as they navigate the intersection of art, revolution, and cuisine.
By Sarah G. Vincent
“Waiting for Dali” is set in 1974 Spain, beginning in Barcelona and moving to Port Lligat in Cadaqués, Catalonia. The story follows two brothers escaping the conflict between the fascist Francoist regime and its opposition. During the day, Alberto (Pol López) is a revolutionary, while at night, he helps his brother, Fernando (Ivan Massagué), who works under the head chef at Septime.
When the authorities start searching for Alberto and his associates, Fernando jumps at an opportunity from Francois (Nicolas Cazalé) to work at El Surreal, a restaurant managed by Jules (José Garcia). Jules hopes to entice the titular artist, Salvador Dali, to dine at his establishment. Francois’ girlfriend, Lola (Clara Ponsot), is Jules’ daughter, a diver who takes pride in her region’s seafood cuisine. She encourages Fernando to embrace his heritage instead of imitating French cuisine. Will the brothers’ arrival infect this eccentric coastal town with political unrest, or will all their dreams come true?
“Waiting for Dali” is David Pujol’s feature directorial debut, which he co-wrote with newcomer Miguel García Navarrette. Pujol, known for his work in television and documentaries, has previously directed “El Bulli – The Story of a Dream” (2010), which chronicles the story of chef Ferran Adrià, a pioneer of molecular gastronomy. He has also directed two documentaries on Salvador Dali: “Dali’s Last Masterpiece” (2015) and “Salvador Dali: In Search of Immortality” (2018).
An alternate history
In “Waiting for Dali,” Pujol blends his interests to create an alternate historical fantasy world where Dali and a fictionalized version of Adrià coexist as creative contemporaries in the 1970s. In this story, Fernando acts as a stand-in for Adrià, a child in 1974. Interestingly, the real Ferran Adrià also has a brother named Albert, a pastry chef, who parallels the fictional Albert in Pujol’s film.
Movies with alternate histories reveal more about the filmmakers and how they wish the world would be as opposed to how it is. Though these types of films can be utopian, they could be considered revisionist history and become dangerous if they veer towards regressive. With the disclaimer of the author being an ignorant American unfamiliar with Spanish history, especially in comparison to Pujol, this film is a strange mix that would be more enjoyable if less was known about that era. Watch Pedro Almodóvar’s films to better understand the culturally revolutionary flavor of that era and beyond for a counterbalance.
Initially, the film appears to make Fernando into the protagonist, with Alberto barely getting a line, although López makes every moment count and holds his ground. Considering that revolution is in the air, it is already an interesting creative choice to make the film’s focal point, Fernando, a food nerd constantly taking notes and no respecter of hierarchy regarding good taste. Though “Waiting for Dali” presents a few obstacles to Fernando’s eventual ascent to critically acclaimed head chef, it feels like a foregone conclusion.
In pursuit of dreams
Every character gets outshone once Jules is in a scene. Garcia resembles Robert Downey Jr. and would fit into a Wes Anderson film as he walks around wearing jean shorts, a black blazer, and a collarless white shirt while coming up with overblown schemes to get Dali to eat at his establishment. Instead, Jules’ restaurant becomes a sanctuary for an outlaw, a burned-out chef, and a group of allegedly pacifist hippies and artists, who are interchangeable and mostly a nameless, silent mass except for Lesya (Varvara Borodina), a convenient love interest for Alberto. Jules provides the movie’s momentum, and everyone supports his dream. The supporting characters would work in “Gilmore Girls,” except for the language barrier. Pujol plays a slippery game of bait and switch where dreams and aspirations supplant a more political, historically rooted definition of freedom to make it safer and more relatable to a general audience.
The ostensible local bad guy is Lieutenant Garrido (Paco Tous), a trigger-happy, easily bribed, conservative local law enforcement official, and his younger, more reasonable subordinate, Miguel (Guillem Balart). Garrido explicitly sympathizes with the regime, and though he poses a looming threat in the first half, he is easily managed and reasoned with compared to the real enemy, who is solidified at the 11th hour and revolves around a love triangle which gets no consistent, gradual development throughout the film but is dropped out of nowhere though the actors make the sudden interest convincing. The script shows that the real evil is the most left-leaning group that expresses a dangerous mob mentality, which is a thread that runs throughout the story but is inconsistently represented throughout “Waiting for Dali.” This plot twist feels poorly thought out and speaks to the dangers of having a charismatic leader, which seemed more like a problem for Germany, not Francoist Spain.
Everyone in this leftist group boasts about practicing free love, but they become a possessive, jealous, and violent force in a game of tug of war to win a woman’s heart, which could happen in real life, though the groundwork is not laid out here. It felt like a way for Pujol to show the real enemy and betrayer is the left or a way to “both sides” any political debate so something as nebulous as artistic goals could reign supreme as if art is apolitical. It is another way of not alienating an audience. If a person ignorant of politics watched this movie, they would not know that Dali often had to dodge accusations of supporting fascists during World War II and was in danger of being ousted as a surrealist for not adhering to the predominant political leanings of the cultural movement, and later was a supporter of the Franco regime. Pujol plays a political shell game that makes his film feel lukewarm, misunderstanding that, good or bad, art is inherently political and not neutral.
Divine imagery
Just as “Ben-Hur” (1989) depicts Jesus from behind, as a character on the edges of the action but a pivotal one, Pujol portrays Dali complete with the shepherd’s crook, which the artist did use, with the ability to make miracles happen. Pujol treats Dali with the same reverence Jules shows him: as a redemptive savior figure. Jules is even ready to give up success to follow him, and when he experiences a crisis of faith, everyone comes together to help Jules not commit blasphemy. Dali’s association with the water and the rising sun reinforces that association, especially as he talks to a fisherman in a huge white tunic.
When Jules is tempted to betray Dali for fame, he uses the language of a reverse resurrection. Pujol is better at communicating through images than crafting a narrative, and his scene transitions reflect a sense of humor and deftness missing from the story.
Sidenote to all foreign films preparing for distribution in the United States: Take a page from Park Chan-wook’s “The Handmaiden” (2016) and use different-colored subtitles for other languages. If characters speak two or more languages, American audiences may be unable to tell when someone is speaking a different language, which is essential to the story. Whether the characters prefer French or Spanish is pivotal to their interior lives and how they think of themselves and their surroundings.
Pujol’s first feature is gorgeous and will make anyone want to drop everything and head to Catalonia at once. It is such a colorful and vibrant film, and the cast’s willingness to do all the heavy lifting elevates the otherwise puzzling yet predictable film that wants to use a turbulent era for the setting of a feel-good, romantic film but ends up feeling random, inconsistent, and scattered.
‘Waiting for Dali’
Cast: José Garcia, Ivan Massagué, Clara Ponsot
Director: David Pujol
Writer: Miguel García Navarrette, David Pujol
Running time: 1 hour 54 minutes
Where to watch: Apple TV, Fandango At Home, YouTube
Grade: B-
Boston Movie News 
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