Hooptober... And Then There Were Nine

15th Kill

I reckon there's a tonal dissonance to Alex de la Iglesia films which is partly a wilful thing he does on purpose, but which is partly just cultural. There's something in the cinematic staging, especially of the darker humour, which feels deeply Spanish. I have lived a small part of my life in Spain and I would like to offer a deep insight on the Spanish cultural psyche, except I honestly don't feel I understand it well enough to do so. But I do believe there are certain aspects to the Spanish culture which just aren't explicable to non-Spanish. Hell, I suppose you could say that about any culture, and maybe I just sense something familiar when immersing myself in de la Iglesia's films as I did when living in Madrid. It might even be a specifically Madrileño thing.

Anyway, there's always a feeling with this guy that his films might fall off the rails at any moment. Obviously, he revels in chaos - these are chaotic films. But beyond even that, it's a bit like I never quite trust him to get me through this film without losing me. I'm either going to ultimately embrace it, or it's going to just end up annoying me.

In this case, no such problem. I know I get pedantic about titles, but whoever decided to release this as The Last Circus in the English speaking markets has really done the film a disservice - just because that title somehow misleads. I can't even fully explain why, but it just gives an impression of a certain sort of film which I think this surpasses in scope and in ambition. The original title translates as Sad Trumpet Ballad, which is definitely weird, but surely about as weird in Spanish as it is in English? Marketers shouldn't be allowed near film titles - it's a fundamental part of the artwork itself.

It feels too exhausting a prospect to synopsise the plot of this film. Yes, there is a circus involved and, yes, there are clowns - one is plain evil, one is basically a good guy. De la Iglesia really has no respect for notions of character respect though - he's merciless to his characters and our "good" clown, Javier (a pretty amazing Carlos Areces) is no exception. The really disorienting and potentially slightly sickening thing about this film is how Javier goes completely off the deep end into madness and torment.

De la Iglesia is one of the few purveyors of true black comedy. This is comedy which is funny because it's so horrible. The comedy lies within the horror of the situation being portrayed. If you follow the logic of this concept - as far as logic can be applied to so primal a thing as humour - the worse things get, the funnier they get. The key to appreciating black comedy like this, I believe, is to be able to simultaneously have empathy for the characters, to allow the horror to hit you in the traditional way, while at the same time laughing at it, seeing the funny side of all this. This film will stretch many peoples' capacity for doing so. It's startlingly unsentimental and shockingly mean-spirited. Meanwhile, it looks incredible - sort of like a combination of Terry Gilliam and Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Best Kill (may contain traces of spoiler)

Definite spoiler here, so look away if you want to check this film out (and you should) but the irresistible (to me) Carolina Bang (what a name, too) meets a shocking yet spectacular end, spinning like a whirligig down a length of red fabric off the top of the giant crucifix in the Valley of the Fallen* only to snap her back at the abrupt end of the furl. Both beautiful and appalling, in so many ways.

*BTW, I should mention the use of the Valley of the Fallen as a location in this film has to have been a bit provocative to a Spanish audience. This place is a giant underground cathedral (sort of - more a memorial but it's the size of a cathedral) which was built by Franco using slave labour. Who knows how many prisoners died building it. It's right on the cusp between becoming an historical site but it is still of recent enough provenance to be seen by many as a travesty - something that should not be visited or appreciated in any way. It's a powerful symbol which, again, will hit Spanish folks and go unnoticed by the rest of us.