Peppermint Frappé

By Carlos Saura

Spain In Spanish, with English subtitles 1967 89 min 54 secPG13 (Some Drug References)

When: Thu, 11 Sep 2025, 8pm
Where: Level B1, The Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium, City Hall Wing
Pricing:
$10 per ticket (see Ticketing for more information)

About the Film

Winning the Silver Bear for Best Direction at Berlinale in 1968 for this film, Carlos Saura directs this psychological thriller of infatuation and obsession.

Julian, a middle-aged single doctor, meets his childhood friend Pablo. The latter is back from Africa and has just married a beautiful young blonde, Elena. Julian falls in love with her and tries to seduce her, but she mockingly pushes him away. He then finds that Ana, his nurse, bears an uncanny resemblance to Elena. He gradually transforms the compliant Ana into the object of his desire.

Peppermint Frappé covertly alludes to Franco-era Spain with its atmosphere of repression which ultimately leads to violent acts. It is Saura’s first colour feature-length film and his first collaboration with actress Geraldine Chaplin, who plays both the glamourous, confident Elena and the meek, submissive Ana.

Peppermint Frappé, together with Saura’s arguably most well-known film La Caza (The Hunt), is programmed in response to the Gallery’s exhibition Fernando Zóbel: Order is Essential. Carlos Saura is featured in the Zóbel exhibition with his first film, Cuenca (1958), a documentary on the Spanish town where Zóbel lived and established the Museo de Arte Abstracto Español with his collection. Peppermint Frappé includes a scene shot at this museum.

Carlos Saura (b. 1932, Spain; d. 2023, Spain) has won many international awards and is among the most well-known filmmakers of Spain. He studied at the Instituto de Investigaciones y Experiencias Cinematográficas in Madrid and was encouraged to study film by his brother, the artist Antonio Saura. He debuted with the documentary Cuenca (1958) which was influenced by his mentor Luis Buñuel.

In 1960, Saura directed Los golfos, clearly influenced by neorealism, and surprised with La Caza (The Hunt, 1966), which established him internationally as a director of note. During the 1980s, he filmed the popular Flamenco trilogy Bodas de sangre, Carmen and El amor brujo.

Related Exhibition

Carlos Saura, Cuenca, 1958, film transferred to digital video, 39 min 5 sec, courtesy of Egeda Films.

Saura’s film is on display next to paintings of Rafael Canogar, left, and Gerardo Rueda, right. Installation view, Fernando Zóbel: Order is Essential.

Find out more here.

Opening Film

Magellan is an intimate portrait of the 16th century Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan, starring Gael García Bernal in the titular role.

Art History, Co-authored

Art History, Co-authored presents films that explore seminal moments in art and film history.

Artist Films

Presenting films made by artists, this year includes an emphasis on early documentaries by Southeast Asian practitioners and a full-length movie independently made during the Marcos regime in the Philippines. National Gallery Singapore commissioned the digital restoration of two artists’ films on 16mm, Virgilio “Pandy” Aviado’s 1978 Footages and Briccio Santos’ Damortis, which are world premiering at Painting with Light.

Special Focus

The Special Focus section presents films that speak to the issues of the day. This year’s programme features the work of women filmmakers and artists who advocate for ways of being that are informed by an ethics of care. Bold, innovative, and profoundly relevant, these films ask the enduring question at the heart of artistic endeavour—what does it mean to be human?

Southeast Asian Shorts

Southeast Asian Shorts presents short films on the stories of Southeast Asia. This year’s programme is co-curated by independent programmer Viknesh Kobinathan, and festival curator Pauline Soh.

Movement Pieces

Movement Pieces celebrates the visual poetry found in moving image art. It features short films that convey meaning through non-verbal modes of communication, like gesture and musicality, in lieu of dialogue.

Closing

We Are Toast is an expanded cinema performance by Mark Chua and Lam Li Shuen that utilises multiple 16mm film projectors to create a live film.

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