Él, 1953
[This Strange Passion/Torments]
A
peculiar, quasi-religious solemn ceremony - in a drolly surreal
sequence that even manages to insert Luis Buñuel's notorious
foot fetish - sets the metaphoric theme for the often (uncomfortably)
over-intimate societal relationship between parishioner and priest
(and more broadly, the individual and the church) as a dashing
aristocrat, Don Francisco (Arturo de Córdova) assists Father
Velasco (Carlos Martínez Baena) in the ritual cleansing
of a succession of altar boys' feet before the well-attended Holy Week
observance. Continuing to visually trace the seemingly endless trail
of disembodied feet, Don Francisco focuses his undivided attention on
the shapely legs of a radiant and beguiling woman, later identified
as Gloria (Delia Garcés), whom he instinctively follows after
the services, but loses sight of when the elusive young woman boards
a motorcar with her mother while he is temporarily detained by the
genial Father Velasco for a cordial introduction to a group of
visiting clergymen. Having spent the better part of his time
embroiled in a protracted real estate dispute involving inherited
property that had been developed by a private corporation without
his knowledge or consent, Don Francisco has found a new object of
obsession in the dogged and myopic pursuit of the elusive Gloria.
Returning to the site of their momentary encounter, he soon spots
an unchaperoned Gloria paying a church visit for morning prayers
and seizes the opportunity to surreptitiously follow her as she
goes through her routine daily errands: a persistence that would
eventually lead him to the discovery of her fiancé, a
trusted associate and well-traveled engineer named Raul (Luis
Beristáin), and consequently, to a subtly manipulative plan
of irresistible - and inescapable - seduction.
Adapted from the semi-autobiographical novel (whose characterization
of the male protagonist was inspired by the author's own troubled
first marriage) by writer and progressive activist Mercedes Pinto
(who, like Buñuel was a Spanish exile who had immigrated to
Latin America), Él is an elegantly understated,
wickedly incisive, and wry satire on obsession, superficiality, hollow
spirituality, possessiveness, and machismo. Incorporating expressionistic
devices of reflecting character interiority through architecture and
mise-en-scène, Buñuel uses integrally tactile and
voluptuous Gaudi-like structures and ornate, baroque ornamentation
in Don Francisco's secluded (and self-imprisoning) estate that
paradoxically reveal the suppressed eroticism, passion, and perversion
that lay beneath the façade of genteel and pious respectability. (Note Buñuel's
indelible long shot of the baroque church interior and the claustrophobic
bell tower sequence that would subsequently inspire Alfred Hitchcock's
stylistically reverent compositions in Vertigo, a similarly themed film
on obsession, possession, and madness). Furthermore, the organically
formed interiors and change in character point-of view also create an
inherent sense of asymmetry that, in turn, contributes to a pervasive
imbalance in the progression and tone of the narrative. In a seemingly
trivial, yet sinister parallel image, Don Francisco's tormented,
zigzagging staircase ascent is mirrored in the resigned, parting
image of the hermetic aristocrat as he walks away from the camera
towards a dark tunnel. It is a wry, foreboding double entendred image
of calculated, deliberately tempered passion and suppressed mania
concealed within the socially accepted institution of self-abnegation
and devoted fervor - a dystopic vision of spiritual sanctuary - a wolf
in the midst of sheep.
© Acquarello 2004. All rights reserved.
A
seemingly rational, well mannered artist named Archibaldo de la
Cruz (Ernesto Alonso) recounts the moment of revelation of his fated
destiny as he methodically turns the pages of a photography book
of war casualties. On an ominous evening during an unnamed civil
insurrection, a spoiled young Archibaldo is entrusted to the care
of a stern and attractive governess (Leonor Llausás) while
his wealthy, neglectful parents attend a social event. In order
to pacify the temperamental boy, his doting mother allows him to
play with a cherished music box that, she explains, possesses magical
powers and must be handled carefully. The governess tacitly accommodates
his mother's prevarication by concocting a story about a king who
used the music box to rid himself of his enemies. In a bizarre coincidence,
Archie winds the music box... and a stray bullet shatters through
the window and kills the governess. Alone with the body of the dead
governess, the young and impressionable Archibaldo is aroused by
the graceful and sensual form of her body, and becomes convinced
of his omnipotence over the destinies of women. He readily confesses
that it is this pursuit to recreate and attain this ideal image
that has led him on his murderous obsession. The polite and attentive
sister of mercy, Sister Trinidad (Chabela Durán), recoils
from Archibaldo's unrepentant admission, only to find that he has
already selected his latest victim.
The
sound of a tolling church bell prefaces the bizarre events that are
to unfold at a Mexican estate on Providence Street. An aristocrat
appropriately named Nobile (Enrique Rambal) has invited several society
friends to his home after the opera. But even as the dinner preparations
are underway, the servants feel an inexplicable urge to depart from
the premises. Despite the threat of dismissal, an anxious footman,
Lucas (Angel Merino), is the first to leave. As the guests arrive
and ascend the stairs to deposit their overcoats for the evening,
two more servants attempt to escape, only to turn back when the guests
emerge from the room. Or do they? Curiously, the entrance scene of
the guests is repeated from a higher camera angle, and this time,
the servants successfully escape.
The
guests arrive at the Senechal home for a dinner party, only to discover
that the invitation had been given for the following evening. This
miscommunication proves to be the first in a series of unusual events
that invariably prevent the Thevenots (Paul Frankeur and Delphine
Seyrig), the Senechals (Jean-Pierre Cassel and Stephane Audran), Don
Rafael (Fernando Rey), and Florence (Bulle Ogier) from enjoying a
meal together. An alternate plan to dine at a local bistro is foiled
when a funeral wake for the restaurant owner is held in an adjacent
back room. Another dinner party is promptly canceled when the Senechals
sneak away from the house for a moment of intimacy, and the guests
mistakenly conclude that a raid on the house is imminent. The women
meet for drinks, but are informed that the cafe is out of tea and
coffee after an unusually busy day. A subsequent dinner party is also
disrupted when the military unexpectedly turns up for training exercises
at the Senechal estate. Even dreams provide little respite for their
frustrated efforts to hold a dinner party, as the guests inexplicably
find themselves seated on stage during the performance of a play,
or creating an international crisis when the colonel (Claude Pieplu)
insults the obscure Republic of Miranda, in front of the ambassador,
Don Rafael.
The
opening sequence of