The residents of a seaside Spanish town reflect on its status as a hedonistic tourist destination in Magaluf Ghost Town. Magaluf is a town located on the Spanish island of Mallorca, the economy of which is solely driven by the British tourists, who embark on the town every summer. Filmmaker Miguel Ángel Blanca follows Magaluf residents Maria, Ruben, and Olga as they react to the tourism that has been a part of life in the town since the 1980s.
Magaluf Ghost Town takes a Cinéma vérité approach in the depiction of a single tourist season in the beachside town of Magaluf. While director Miguel Ángel Blanca does occasionally delve into the hedonistic activity of the tourists, such as public sex on the beach or radio stations placing bets on how many people will die “balconing,” jumping out of hotel windows into swimming pools, the focus of the film is more on the people who live in the town and their thoughts on the tourism industry that drives it.
While it might have been smart on one hand for director Miguel Ángel Blanca not to focus too much of the drunken shenanigans on the tourists who visit Magaluf every year, the end result is a documentary that is frankly a bit on the dull side. While Magaluf Ghost Town features a few striking images, such as co-subject Maria mopping up blood of a balconing fatality, there is ultimately very little in the film to make it truly memorable. As such, Magaluf Ghost Town ends up feeling just as empty as the town in its off-season.
Magaluf Ghost Town is now streaming as part of the 2021 Hot Docs Film Festival
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