By coincidence two film DVDs arrived at the same time that were similar in topic, a comic look at college level schools that ostensibly prepare young people for a career in the arts. No Shame/Sin vergüenza, a 2001 Spanish production and Art School Confidential, a 2006 Hollywood product, both using the device of a jaded group of instructors, played off against the naive enthusiasm of aspiring students. While each film reflects the cultural differences of the two countries, there is a significant difference in depth.
Art School Confidential has an impressive cast for the instructor generation, the likes of Angelica Huston, John Malcovich, and Jim Broadbent who all put in yeoman's duty to provide some gravitas, yet for the film as a whole, there is only one degree of separation from it's humor and a typical teen comedy, as students compete for top grade to win a private show are distracted by something every budding artist must contend with- a mystery strangler terrorizing the town and student body and an unscrupulous, married, undercover cop posing as a student who seems a shoe-in to win the competition and snag the female lead while he's at it.
In contrast, No Shame's plot device is more straight forward, a previous lover of the head of the acting school is in town casting his new film. The school head invites him to watch the finale exam performances, which throws the acting class into disarray as many of the students hope to impress the director and score a part in his film. Verónica Forqué and Daniel Giménez Cacho do the heavy lifting for the instructor's generation and though a comedy in the Almodovar vein, the acting during the performance scenes and before are at a higher level all together than Art School Confidential, and the humor is generally more sophisticated.
I won't say that Art School Confidential is plagiarism, but coming five years after, it simply lacks the creative vigor and zest of No Shame.
Art School Confidential has an impressive cast for the instructor generation, the likes of Angelica Huston, John Malcovich, and Jim Broadbent who all put in yeoman's duty to provide some gravitas, yet for the film as a whole, there is only one degree of separation from it's humor and a typical teen comedy, as students compete for top grade to win a private show are distracted by something every budding artist must contend with- a mystery strangler terrorizing the town and student body and an unscrupulous, married, undercover cop posing as a student who seems a shoe-in to win the competition and snag the female lead while he's at it.
In contrast, No Shame's plot device is more straight forward, a previous lover of the head of the acting school is in town casting his new film. The school head invites him to watch the finale exam performances, which throws the acting class into disarray as many of the students hope to impress the director and score a part in his film. Verónica Forqué and Daniel Giménez Cacho do the heavy lifting for the instructor's generation and though a comedy in the Almodovar vein, the acting during the performance scenes and before are at a higher level all together than Art School Confidential, and the humor is generally more sophisticated.
I won't say that Art School Confidential is plagiarism, but coming five years after, it simply lacks the creative vigor and zest of No Shame.