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New Century of Cinema
DOWSE Guide to the
Movies
by Tony Lee editor of
Pigasus
Press
Tierra
Director: Julio Medem
118 minutes (18) 1997 widescreen Tartan
review by Mike Philbin
Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust is where this softly mad allegorical tale
lives. Picture the town full of character but plodding along with the old guard in
control of normality.
This is a film they do not make in Hollywood, more 'quotidienne' than
the snappy city mindset of Pi, this film stinks to high heaven of the earth. You
watch this video the way you thrust your bare hands into the ground, lifting up
handfuls of soil, worms, woodlice and fumigation powder and suffocate on the chill
burst of lightning that stops all drama. Moves all narrative along at the pace of
realisation; slow and inevitable like a junkie needing his next hit.
Tierra is another top film from yet another Spanish master of
the surreal. Can Spanish TV really be this spaced out to grow so wild a creative crop
as it does? What are they putting in the water?
Angel is part man, part angel. He arrives in town like Clint Eastwood
to rid the town of varmints, in this case a plague of woodlice that make the wine taste
earthy. The sex in this film is brief but earthy. The violence is brief but earthy. The
whole production, the actors, the editing, the direction is earthy. A pungent
authenticity permeates every update of the cathode ray tube banging electrons against
the orange glowing phosphor glass. Angel must choose between physical love and romantic
need. The viewer is always left guessing which way the treacherous mountain road will
turn. For a man who so hates the blue flecks in his eyes, there are a lot of realities
to discover in this uber-Lynchian soft focus of confusion. One rule they never tell
shepherds is how dangerous their job may in fact be.
Score this one 8.75 out of 10 for sheer uniqueness, rough edges et al.
The video is in Spanish with English subtitles.
visit Mike's website
Buy this title from Blackstar
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