One way to look at Vampir – Cuadecuc is as an artful making of Jess Franco’s El conde Dracula (1970) – one of the Meister’s Harry Alan Towers productions. But that would mean being content with merely the first layer of the film. Portabella was after something more complex, as witnessed by the fabulously idiosyncratic soundscape mainly made up of weird noises, or his choice of shots which tend to stress the element of artifice – one of the Escuela de Barcelona’s main pre-occupations.
Some see Vampir – Cuadecuc as a witty allegory on Francisco Franco, with Dracula as the dictator whose demise is certain (Christopher Lee reads that part on-screen, which makes the scene a standout moment of the film). Could very well be. But what does ‘Cuadecuc’ mean? Does this word exist? Or is it a poetic creation that mirrors Carles Santos’ composition?
Film details
- Country of production
- Spain
- Year
- 1970
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2016
- Length
- 67"
- Medium/Format
- DCP
You may also like this
-
A glória de fazer cinema em Portugal
Short documentary unravels what happened to Portuguese writer José Régio’s intention 90 years ago to borrow a camera and make a film and in t
-
I’ll Be Late for Dinner
A rhythmic montage of photographs made by the Cassini satellite in orbit around Saturn, including the ‘imperfect’ images that never made it into th
-
Wake (Subic)
Wake (Subic) forms, together with Vapor Trail (IFFR 2010), a monumental essay that investigates the context of the poisoning around former American