Clowns and the Spanish Civil War
July 18, 2011 6:27 AM Subscribe
The Last Circus, latest film by vastly under-exposed Spanish director Alex de la Iglesia, will see a limited U.S. theatrical release by Magnet on August 12th. The director's previous work includes surreal apocalypse fantasy (El Dia de la Bestia) and black humor (El Crimen Ferpecto). NSFW trailer here.
I don't know how to say this, but every last one of you should get your butts in gear and watch El Crimen Ferpecto. My wife and I both have been intentionally mispronouncing 'Perfect' as 'Ferpecto' ever since.
It's a wicked flick, and thanks to mean cheez for alerting me to more of his work!
posted by The Giant Squid at 6:45 AM on July 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
It's a wicked flick, and thanks to mean cheez for alerting me to more of his work!
posted by The Giant Squid at 6:45 AM on July 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Crimen Ferpecto is nice, but El Dia de la Bestia is genius. Also interesting (especially if you want to see Javier Bardem making an entirely unconvincing impression of Danny Trejo throughout two hours of movie) is the gross-out "Perdita Durango" (released in the US as "Dance with the Devil"). Just a line from that movie:
"What's red and goes around at 60 mph? A baby in a blender."
posted by Skeptic at 6:57 AM on July 18, 2011
"What's red and goes around at 60 mph? A baby in a blender."
posted by Skeptic at 6:57 AM on July 18, 2011
La Communidad is an excellent film as well. Definitely worth checking out as well. Thanks for posting this!
posted by zerobyproxy at 7:12 AM on July 18, 2011
posted by zerobyproxy at 7:12 AM on July 18, 2011
The Last Circus looks completely fucking insane! Can't wait to see it, and I'll be checking out the rest of his work. Nice post!
posted by Mister_A at 7:19 AM on July 18, 2011
posted by Mister_A at 7:19 AM on July 18, 2011
I love this quote from a link at the bottom of his Wikipedia page:
"Offending people is no longer an option. Everyone gets used to everything, which I consider hell, a hell of zombies. The world is like a huge dentist's waiting room, everyone very formally accepting and waiting for pain, bored to death until suffering wakes them up. The only way to fight," he says, is "to transform your pain into a poisonous liquid, entertaining and refreshing."
posted by mediareport at 7:27 AM on July 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
"Offending people is no longer an option. Everyone gets used to everything, which I consider hell, a hell of zombies. The world is like a huge dentist's waiting room, everyone very formally accepting and waiting for pain, bored to death until suffering wakes them up. The only way to fight," he says, is "to transform your pain into a poisonous liquid, entertaining and refreshing."
posted by mediareport at 7:27 AM on July 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
I saw this in the cinema in Spain, it's a real treat. It's also a fantastic allegorical history of Spain in the 20th century... well worth it.
Oh, and for those who enjoy Alex de la Iglesia, check out his TV series Plutón BRB Nero, a sort of Red Dwarfish comedy with Carolina Bang (who also stars in The Last Circus).
posted by itsjustanalias at 7:31 AM on July 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Oh, and for those who enjoy Alex de la Iglesia, check out his TV series Plutón BRB Nero, a sort of Red Dwarfish comedy with Carolina Bang (who also stars in The Last Circus).
posted by itsjustanalias at 7:31 AM on July 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Balada triste de trompeta didn't fare too well in the Goyas and only won Best Special Effects and Best Makeup awards. Alex de la Iglesia gave a pretty impressive speech though as he stepped down from his job as the president of the Academy.
posted by JJ86 at 7:32 AM on July 18, 2011
posted by JJ86 at 7:32 AM on July 18, 2011
The Last Circus trailer looks amazing. Pan's Labyrinth meets Psychoville.
posted by afx237vi at 7:45 AM on July 18, 2011
posted by afx237vi at 7:45 AM on July 18, 2011
Crimen Ferpecta was great, but I watched Balada Triste de Trompeta (Last Circus) a few weeks ago, and I can't recommend it. Cool visuals at times, but it goes really heavy-handed with the extended metaphor (sad clown=rebel forces, psychotic funny clown=Franco regime, the woman=the people of Spain). The characters don't feel like people. They're just symbols, and it's hard to care about them because of that.
posted by tkfu at 7:56 AM on July 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by tkfu at 7:56 AM on July 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
I should have put the link to La Communidad. This is the story of a tenement where someone wins the lottery, everyone in the building knows that the person distrusted banks and most likely had all of the lottery winnings in their apartment. A wonderful film. Sorry for coming back twice to say this.
posted by zerobyproxy at 8:37 AM on July 18, 2011
posted by zerobyproxy at 8:37 AM on July 18, 2011
Thanks for adding some great links! I found him through The Last Circus and still have some of his work to go through. Had no idea about the TV show.
posted by mean cheez at 8:58 AM on July 18, 2011
posted by mean cheez at 8:58 AM on July 18, 2011
Looks like an interesting film.
posted by Loki's Thunder at 9:56 AM on July 18, 2011
posted by Loki's Thunder at 9:56 AM on July 18, 2011
"Because if I weren't a clown, I'd be a murderer."
"Me too"
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:44 PM on July 18, 2011
"Me too"
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:44 PM on July 18, 2011
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