Saturn Return (Spanish: Segundo premio) is a 2024 musical drama film directed by Isaki Lacuesta and Pol Rodríguez starring Daniel Ibáñez, Stéphanie Magnin, and Cristalino.
Set in the late 1990s against the backdrop of Granada's musical scene, the plot fictionalizes the creative process behind Los Planetas' third album.
While having a full lineup, the band struggles to meet their creative deadlines with the label, and the guitarist tells the singer that May did not leave because of the accident stuff.
The singer is pushed to continue working on a hit song and suggested to leave the guitarist behind should they travel to NYC to record the album.
The guitarist and the singer meet again there and the band records the third album, Una semana en el motor de un autobús [es].
[3] Andrea G. Bermejo of Cinemanía rated the film 5 out of 5 stars and praised the work of the cast, both the musicians who had never acted before and the actors who never had had a Granadan accent.
[23] Raúl Julián of Mondo Sonoro gave the film a 8 out of 10 score, writing about "100 minutes of focus and approach far removed from conventionalisms and well maintained by the filmmakers, as well as supported by actors in a state of grace".
[4] Carlos Aguilar of Variety found the film to be one of the "most honest and reinvigorating music biopics in years".
[27] In September 2024, the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain selected Saturn Return for a shortlist of 3 films to determine their final submission for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards,[28] eventually becoming Spain's submission to the aforementioned award.