Viral Agoraphobia Leads to 'The Last Days' in New Spanish Film, 'Los Últimos Días'

What if agoraphobia were contagious -- and lethal? That's the question the Pastor brothers, David and Alex (Carriers, 2009), imagine an answer to in their latest film, Los Últimos Días (The Last Days.)

This apocalyptic story unfolds in present day Barcelona as a worldwide epidemic leaves streets emptied and people trapped in homes, offices, shopping centers, etc. due to a morbid fear of simply stepping outside. Indeed, the adverse reaction to going out is so strong that individuals who do convulse and die after stepping only a few feet out the door. The result: a world in total chaos.

Months after the pandemic strikes, high-tech staff stuck in a powerless high-rise office building are struggling to survive as food and water runs low. They work together in shifts to escape their prison by digging their way into the tunnels of the metro, power and sewage systems below. After successfully breaking through, two very different characters are suddenly thrown together and make an agreement to travel jointly through the bowels of the city as they head for their destinations. 

Marc (Quim Gutiérrez), is a young computer programmer who desperately wants to find the pregnant girlfriend he argued with before leaving for work on the day the virus finally paralyzed the world. Enrique (Jose Coronado), is a cut-throat human resources consultant who had been brought in to clean up the company by forcing Marc and others seen as under-performers to shape-up or ship-out. Exactly who or what Enrique is after is initially a mystery to Marc -- and to the audience.

We follow this odd-couple making their way through dark and dingy passageways with surprises lurking around nearly every curve. As they push forward, they manage to get into a metro station, an apartment building, a mall, a skyscraper and a church, where they come across others who are on journeys like theirs, crowds huddling together in a semblance of community, gangs of criminals, families who are trying to stick together, as well as assorted animals -- big and small.

The movie does not focus on the how or the why of the pandemic. Through flashbacks we catch bits and pieces of news reports about ash from a volcano in Iceland and increasing cases of agoraphobia, panic and suicides, and as things get worse we hear reassurances from the authorities meant to calm the masses. Instead the directors explore how humanity might react to such a tragedy, which in the case of Marc is simply to try to reunite with a loved one, without giving much thought about what he might do after. Enrique is looking for something or someone, too, but in addition he shows signs of thinking ahead to what very basic things they will need to survive.

The special effects are excellent. The eerie scenes of a Barcelona abandoned by its inhabitants and increasingly reclaimed by nature brought to mind the London of 28 Weeks Later and New York of I Am Legend.

The performances are equally impressive. Veteran actor Jose Coronado blends the right amount of ruthlessness and humanity into the character of Enrique. Quim Gutierrez, who jumped from soap operas to the big screen a few years ago, portrays Marc with a sort of naivete and innocence that makes his journey believable.

All in all, a well-made and very entertaining film.

A Gothic Fable: "El Laberinto del Fauno" ("Pan's Labyrinth")

2006's “El Laberinto del Fauno” (“Pan's Labyrinth”*), written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, is quite simply one of the best films of recent years. Fantastic in terms of genre and quality, this Mexican-Spanish production depicts the phantasmagoric adventures of Ophelia (Ivana Baquero), a 13-year-old girl in 1944 Spain -- five years after the official end of the civil war, but a time when guerrilla warfare was still being waged.

The movie opens with the narration of a brief fairy tale about a princess from an underground land who escapes to the earth's surface. This is followed by scenes of Ophelia and her widowed, pregnant mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), traveling to a village in Northwestern Spain to live with the new man in their lives, Vidal (Sergi López). Vidal is a cruel captain in dictator Franco's army, who is stationed with his men in the town in order to wipe out the vestiges of republican resistance fighters hiding in the mountains. While he is happy to welcome his expectant wife, Vidal shows little interest in or affection for stepdaughter. However, Ophelia strikes up a friendly relationship with the kindly housekeeper, Mercedes (Maribel Verdú), and the sympathetic local doctor (Alex Angulo), and soon discovers that the two of them are aiding the resistance fighters.

Ophelia, who enjoys reading fantasies, one day comes upon a walking-stick insect and follows it to the ruins of a labyrinth. Later that night the insect appears in her bedroom, where it turns into a fairy before leading her back to the labyrinth. This time she she meets a strange looking creature there, a faun (Doug Jones), who tells Ophelia that he believes she is in reality the princess from the narrative that opened the film, the last of her royal line, and that he and other creatures of her magical kingdom have been waiting for her return. He explains that in order to re-enter her realm, she must pass three challenges before the next full moon. As the viewer follows Ophelia on the quests the faun has set for her, a wonderful fantasy world combines with the harsh reality of the era to create a tale full of adventure and emotion that weaves its way towards a deadly, but lovely, climax.

The film, which won numerous awards, is in my opinion technically and artistically flawless. The costumes, make up and sets are out of this world. The music is hauntingly memorable. Ivana Baquero, the young actress who carries the movie as Ophelia, turns in a perfect performance. Sergi López embodies the evils of the military in a dictatorship through his portrayal of the vile Captain Vidal. Maribel Verdú is admirable and touching as the servant/spy, and the other supporting cast members all give excellent performances, as well.

If you have not seen “El Laberinto del Fauno,” I hope that one day you get a chance to experience this exquisite film, which not only suceeds as an intriguing fantasy, fable, adventure, and thriller, but also a moving homage to those who defied fascism in some of the darkest years of the 20th century.

Disfrutadlo amig@s,

Carloz

* The title translates literally as, "The Labyrinth of the Faun," but was released in English speaking countries as, “Pan's Labyrinth”, despite del Toro's saying that the character of the faun had nothing to do with the creature from Greek mythology.

Three to look for from Spain in 09: Amenábar, Almodóvar and Viscarret

2009 is looking good for the Spanish film industry with works from two of Spain's best directors set to be released later this year, and a major documentary already out. Agora, directed by Alejandro Amenábar, is slated to come out in September, while Los Abrazos Rotos, directed by Pedro Almodóvar, is scheduled for March. Meanwhile, El Canto del Loco: La película, by director Félix Viscarret, is currently playing in theaters throughout Spain.

Agora, filmed in English, is an adventure set in Roman Egypt. Rachel Weisz stars as as the legendary philosopher and astronomer Hypatia, an atheist dealing with the rise of Christianity and trying to save the Library of Alexandria from turmoil in the city. Throw in the love of a Christian-convert slave (Max Minghella), and it sounds like a tumultuous mix.

This is Amenábar's first movie since he won an Academy Award for Mar adentro (The Sea Inside) in 2004. Although his first English language film, 2001's The Others, may not have won an Oscar, I am sure most people reading this will be familiar with that world-wide box office hit. Let's see, 2001, 2004, 2009 -- I hope we don't have to wait another 4 or 5 years for his next Spanish language film!

Well, Los Abrazos Rotos (Broken Embraces) is in Spanish, as always with Almodóvar -- who thankfully is a much more prolific filmmaker. This one stars Penélope Cruz as an actress having personal difficulties during the filming of her latest movie. It is, reportedly, a movie within a movie.

In fact, one might say it has echos of Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios, (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown), and not only because the director is using some of the same sets he used in that film. In addition, three of the cast from the 1988 comedy, Rossy de Palma, Chus Lampreave and Kiti Manver, have parts in this new production. Plus the story has Cruz' character busy making a comedy called "Chicas y Maletas" ("Gals and Suitcases"), with a story line that reportedly resembles the earlier film. And figuring prominently on one set, that of a screenwriter's office, will be the poster pictured above, "Mujer con pistola." Look familiar?

Almodóvar has said that Los Abrazos Rotos is a drama and also a thriller; that is has a film noir feel but also elements of comedy; that it is set in the 90s as well as the present day, but has a 50s feel; and that its characters are involved in the worlds of cinema and business, but that it is not about the worlds of cinema or business. Another tumultuous mix?

Finally, a film that was released this January definitely has a lot of tumult -- the "rockumentary" El Canto del Loco: La pelicula. (The Song of the Mad: The film.) While this movie includes plenty of scenes of the immensely popular Spanish rock band El Canto del Loco in concert, in interviews, and on the road, it will probably end up being best known for its shots from the infamous "nude-in" the group held last September. This was for a CD cover photo shoot at a Madrid bull ring where "birthday suits only" was the dress code for band members and attendees alike. (You can get a G-rated peek of the latter in the trailer below. More clips are available on the film's website.)

In an interesting marketing ploy, El Canto del Loco Personas (la peliciula) is only being shown in Spanish cinemas between January 2nd and 11th, and only in those with digital projectors. No information is available yet about when this unique movie will be released outside of Spain or on DVD.

Disfrutadlos amig@s,

Carloz

El Nido Vacio = The Empty Nest

One of my favorite films from 2008 is the Argentine-Spanish
co-production, El Nido Vacio. (The Empty Nest.) Filmed primarily in Argentina and partly in Israel, written, directed and produced by Argentine Daniel Burman, and starring Oscar Martinez and Cecilia Roth, it is an interesting comedy-drama with occasionally surrealistic overtones. It also has some excellent music by Academy Award winning singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler.

El Nido Vacio humorously depicts the daily life and marriage of a successful Argentine playwright, Leonardo (Martinez), a middle aged introvert showing signs of suffering from writer's block. His wife, Elena (Roth), is an outgoing, energetic woman who decides to go back to university and convinces Leonardo to try marital group therapy. His children, who are mostly glimpsed on the periphery, seem to be heading out on their own -- one of them eventually to Israel.

Daniel Burman is a well known director in the Spanish speaking world, primarily because of the success of three previous movies: Todas las azafatas van al cielo, El Abrazo Partido, and Derecho De Familia. (Every Stewardess Goes to Heaven, The Lost Embrace and Family Law.) He has said he admires the work of Woody Allen, and it definitely shows, especially in his application of a whimsical sense of humor. Burman's films usually either focus on the lives of Jews in Argentina today, or includes some reference to it. The family in El Nido Vacio is Jewish, but that does not really play a major part of the story.

While the film is entertaining and thought provoking, it can be a little confusing at times, as it swings between what may be reality or what may be the inner workings of Leonardo's creative mind. All is not clear until the very end, when things get wrapped up rather nicely. Basically, however, it is well made film that tells a good story, by a director who obviously knows how to do both.

Disfrutadlo amig@s,

Carloz