Best Pictures #110: 2024 (97th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee: Dune: Part Two

 by A.J.

Best Pictures #110: 2024 (97th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

Dune: Part Two

“Power over spice is power over all.”

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part One (2021) was an incredible box office hit, pop culture phenomenon, and big winner at the Academy Awards, winning 6 of its 10 nominations at the 94th Awards. Dune: Part Two, the continuation of Frank Herbert's epic science fiction fantasy novel, was also a major box office hit though this installment earned a total of only 5 Oscar nominations (Picture, Cinematography, Production Design, Sound, and Visual Effects). I must admit that I was not caught up in the mania for Dune: Part One; it is without a doubt a technical achievement but I found it too serious to be any fun or have a sense of adventure–unlike David Lynch's maligned turned cult classic 1984 version, which is campy and strange and entertaining. I am happy to report however that Dune: Part Two does have a sense of adventure and entertainment in addition to its sense of grandeur and importance.

Perhaps I found this chapter of the new Dune saga more entertaining than Part One because I was already familiar with Villeneuve’s version of the world and characters of the desert planet, Arrakis, also called Dune. Or, perhaps it is because things like world building and the exposition of an intricate plot were the burden of Part One. With all of that out of the way, Dune: Part Two feels by contrast more focused and less esoteric. There is little talk of the mystical and powerful "spice", a thing so coveted and necessary for this interplanetary society that it is the crux of the entire plot. I would even go so far as to guess that someone who is entirely unfamiliar with the Frank Herbert novel, David Lynch version, or even Villeneuve’s Dune: Part One could watch this movie and not feel lost at all. Dune: Part Two is the story of an oppressed native people fighting colonial invaders and a young outsider who may or may not be–but almost certainly is–their prophesied messiah. The exotic sounding names and creatures and costumes are all just window dressing, which is how science fiction fantasy should be.

The cast of Part One returns with Timothée Chalamet playing Paul Atreides and Rebecca Ferguson as his mother, Lady Jessica, who is part of the mystical religious order the Bene Gesserit. There is no “previously on" or recap but the plot threads are easy to pick up. Paul and Lady Jessica have survived a betrayal and massacre of their entire royal house by the evil Harkonnens, who now control Dune. Paul and Lady Jessica are only welcomed, to a degree, into the society of the native Fremen because one of their leaders, Stilgar (Javier Bardem) believes Paul to be the messiah who will liberate Arrakis and turn the desert world into a green paradise. His daughter and Paul's love interest, Chani (Zendaya) is more than skeptical of the prophecy but she starts to have feelings for Paul. Their moments alone together–her teaching him to walk without rhythm, which still seems to have a rhythm, or her not believing Paul about the idea of swimming–are nice character building and emotional respites. Paul comes to believe that he is the messiah and whether or not this is because of a generations old plan by the Bene Gesserit becomes less important as Paul delivers on the promises of the messiah.

At many points in Dune: Part One I could barely see what was happening even though I had all the lights off in my house and the brightness settings on my TV turned all the way up. With Part Two I had no such problems–I did turn off all the lights in my house but this gave the movie a more theatrical feel instead of being a visual necessity. Perhaps this is because most of the action takes place in the desert daytime outdoors though even scenes in underground caves were also clear. Paul triumphantly riding the gigantic desert sandworm is an impressive sight though it is unclear how he makes it stop. The most visually stunning sequence however belongs to the world of the villains, a world that is not so much black and white as it is devoid of color. Baron Harkonnen's (Stellan Skarsgård) favorite and sadistic nephew Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) slaughters drugged fighters in a massive coliseum but one of them, an Atreides prisoner, puts up a real fight, to the blood thirsty delight of Feyd-Rautha. It is impressive that a scene so devoid of color can be so eye-catching. 

Other new cast members include Christopher Walken as the galactic emperor who set the betrayal of the Atreides family in motion and his daughter, Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), who functions as an audience stand-in, getting filled in on information about the main plot. The increasing severity of Florence Pugh’s headdresses and face coverings throughout the movie cannot go without notice and feels like a joke by the costume designers. Both Walken and Pugh have little to do other than lend their screen presence, though hearing Walken talk sci-fi Dune speak in his unique voice is unintentionally funny 

In the novel Paul gets to be a bit annoying; he has all the bravado and swagger of a regular teenage boy multiplied by his privileged upbringing and discovery that he is the messiah. Thankfully, as played by Chalamet, Paul is a young man who harbors doubts about himself and his abilities. We know that the prophecy of the messiah was created by the Bene Gesserit to control the Freman; Lady Jessica knows this, Paul knows this, Chani knows it instinctually. Yet Paul and Lady Jessica rebel against their religious and political order and make the prophecy come true, so do they not fulfill the prophecy? Can people believe something enough to make it reality? These are surely questions that Frank Herbert meant to stir with his novel. They were absent or muddled in Dune: Part One but are here in Dune: Part Two adding an extra thematic layer that does not distract from the adventure. 

Though Dune: Part Two concludes the story of Frank Herbert’s Dune, it is actually the middle part of an intended trilogy (to be concluded with Dune Messiah, based on the second Dune novel, in 2026). As far as middle film installments of recent trilogies go, this one is pretty good. It ends with a feeling of “onto the next adventure!” instead of “come back next year for the ending.”

Nominees: Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe and Denis Villeneuve, Producers

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Screenplay: Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts; based on the novel by Frank Herbert

Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler

Production Companies: Legendary Pictures

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Release Date: March 1, 2024 (United States)

Total Nominations: 5, including Best Picture

Other Nominations: Cinematography-Greig Fraser; Production Design-Shane Vieau (set decorator), Patrice Vermette (production designer); Sound-Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill; Visual Effects-Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, Gerd Nefzer

Best Pictures #102: 2023 (96th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee: Poor Things

by A.J.

Best Pictures #102: 2023 (96th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

Poor Things

“I have adventured it and found nothing but sugar and violence.”

Poor Things is a strange and unusual movie and yet it tells a familiar story with familiar themes. It is a fable of a simpleton who goes out into the world, has new experiences, and inadvertently exposes the nonsense and hypocrisy of society that we all accept as normal. It is the approach and execution by director Yorgos Lanthimos and the stunning work by the costume designer and production designers that make Poor Things enjoyably outlandish and memorable. 

This dark, fractured fairy tale mixes elements of Frankenstein and Candide together in a steampunk blender. Emma Stone plays Bella Baxter, a living experiment who moves and sounds like a toddler-like creature though she has the body of an adult woman. She is the creation (of sorts) of mad scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), who is her father figure and does not mind that Bella’s nickname for him is “God.” He enlists Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef), one of his university students, to track Bella’s development. She learns and matures and of course Max falls in love with her, but Godwin’s lawyer, Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), whisks her away on a tour of Europe with the promise of experiencing life outside of Godwin’s house and laboratory. And so Bella’s journey of enlightenment and eroticism begins. 

Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo’s perfectly over the top performances are a large part of why Poor Things works at all. Stone is great at the broad comedy required. More importantly, she makes Bella’s resilient optimism believable instead of naive or annoying. It’s clear from his very first scene that Wedderurn is a lascivious cad of questionable scruples and also a bit of a buffoon; Ruffalo’s cartoonish take on this character is just right. Bella and Wedderburn’s tour of Europe begins in Lisbon and consists of lots of sex, which Bella calls “furious jumping,” and then more sex. (This film is certainly not shy about sex and nudity.) As Bella learns and experiences more of the world and other people she becomes harder to control and Ruffalo really lets his character’s petulant and buffoonish side take over with great comic results. Even with all the sex and nudity the most interesting parts of Bella’s journey are her encounters with a fellow couple on a cruise, a wizened older woman played by Hanna Schygulla and her younger traveling companion played by Jarrod Carmichel, and her return to London where her optimism and shunning of cruelty are tested.

Unusual though the characters and story may be, it is the production design and costumes that make the film eye-catching and memorable. The look is a highly artificial late Victorian steampunk fantasy version of the world, and it is a feast for the eyes. The scenes on the Mediterranean cruise, especially at night, have an enchanting, surreal aesthetic. Production designers Shona Heath and James Price have done some stunning work and have rightfully received Oscar nominations. Likewise, Bella’s costumes with huge puffy shoulders by Holly Waddington, also Oscar nominated, help create the bizarre fairy tale vibe. 

There are many points where Poor Things could lose a viewer. The use of a fisheye lens and swish pans, favorite techniques of Lanthimos, are jarring and mostly unnecessary since the production design, costumes, and makeup effects are already doing the heavy lifting in creating the unusual aesthetic. However, the element that may be a strange step too far and downright off putting for some involves Bella’s backstory. I’m not sure if this qualifies as a spoiler as it is revealed relatively early on, but I will write about it now. Dr. Godwin tells Max about how one day he found the fresh corpse of a pregnant woman who jumped from a bridge into a river to kill herself. Unable to resist the scientific possibilities, but wanting to respect the woman’s wish to be dead, he put the brain of the unborn baby into the woman’s head and brought her to life. Hence Bella’s toddling and broken speech. Though she learns and matures quickly, just as Frankenstein’s Monster did, there’s a certain uneasiness to men fawning over Bella, whose mental development is still in progress, especially in the early scenes. 

Poor Things has been described by many as a feminist film about a young woman taking agency over her body and her mind. This is certainly true. However, I would certainly not contradict anyone who found its brand of feminism fishy, seeing as how it is about a simple minded woman whose journey of enlightenment and self-realization involves lots and lots of very casual sex. It might come as no surprise to some that the main creative voices behind the movie are all male: director Yorgos Lanthimos, screenwriter Tony McNamara, and Alasdair Gray who wrote the novel. 

Yorgos Lanthimos, whose previous films include Dogtooth, The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and the Oscar nominated The Favourite, is no stranger to offbeat and challenging subject matter. Somehow Poor Things almost feels like a departure for him since it lacks the grim darkness of his previous films. Bella’s ever flowing optimism and belief in kindness are the heart of the story and make this an ultimately optimistic, life affirming film.

Best Pictures #93: 2022 (95th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee: Everything Everywhere All At Once

by A.J.

Best Pictures #93: 2022 (95th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

Everything Everywhere All At Once 

“You’ve been feeling it too, haven’t you? Something is off. Your clothes never wear as well the next day, your hair never falls in quite the same way…”

Everything Everywhere All At Once is a wild, weird, zany, outlandish, and thoroughly entertaining film. Its premise feels original but, more importantly, it lives up to the promise of its fun title. Part sci-fi, martial arts movie, action, comedy, family drama, and mid life crisis movie, co-writers and directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (known together as The Daniels) crammed everything they could into their movie, and then squeezed in some more. The combination of over the type action, absurd sights, and a great cast led by Michelle Yeoh make Everything Everywhere All At Once one of the most memorable movies in years. 

Michelle Yeoh plays Evelyn Wang, a woman dealing with the drudgery of running a laundromat, overly friendly customers, unfriendly customers, the growing gulf between her and her daughter, Joy (Stepahnie Hsu), who wants to include her girlfriend Becky in their Chinese New Year celebration, though this would not be taken well by Gong Gong (James Hong), Evelyn’s ailing father who has come from China to live with them. She also finds out that her well meaning but floundering husband, Waymond (Ke Huy Quan), has just filed for divorce, and has to deal with a confusing tax audit by a grumpy IRS agent (Jaime Lee Curtis). As if this wasn’t enough to handle, it turns out the fate of every possible universe rests with her. 

In order to learn the skills she needs to fight the ultimate chaotic evil force out to destroy the multiverse, called Jobu Tupaki, Evelyn first has to learn how to “verse jump,” that is, to temporarily jump into a different version of herself from a different universe, pick up a special skill and jump back. If you have some trouble keeping track of which version of which character is where or the inner workings of the Alpha-verse and their technology, you’ll be in good company because it takes a while for Evelyn to accept and figure it all out herself. This might be the best thing about Evelyn as written by the Daniels and performed by Yeoh. She is a normal woman who has normal incredulous reactions to the outlandish and extraordinary things happening around her. In addition to believably handling all of the martial arts and action scenes, Yeoh handles the emotional scenes with the same expertise. A lot of the comedy comes from Evelyn’s confusion and attempts to explain everything to her versions of Waymond and Joy. 

The rest of the cast also does an excellent job playing the different versions of themselves and it is easy to keep track of who is which version just from the performances. Ke Huy Quan as average Waymond is so mild mannered he puts Clark Kent to shame, but he brims with self-assurance as the successful businessman version of Waymond, and he is a believable fighter as Waymond from the Alpha-verse. Stephanie Hsu is great as average Joy, dealing with heavy internal conflict about her mother, but she really gets to shine as the multiverse villain Jobu Tupaki, who has been driven beyond madness into sinister nihilism by experiencing all possible universes simultaneously.  

Perhaps the most important factor to the movie’s success and memorability is its willingness to be silly. Very, very silly indeed. There’s a universe where people literally have gigantic hot dogs for fingers; Evelyn misremembers Ratatouille and creates a universe with a cooking raccoon, voiced, briefly but perfectly, by Randy Newman. There is a universe where she trains to fight with only her pinky finger. In one of the less outlandish universes Evelyn is an action movie star not unlike Michelle Yeoh. Evelyn wants to just stay in this universe instead of fighting an all powerful cosmic being (who wouldn't?). Of course, this embrace of the silly leads to some good comedy. All of this multiverse madness is so broad and random that there is bound to find something that matches your particular comedic taste. The action and fights are well choreographed and exciting. They seem spontaneous and frantic, which is what makes them so fun.

All of this incredible and ridiculous action is not mindless or self-serving. It expresses and reinforces the conflicts that average Evelyn is facing in her normal life. Almost all of the action takes place inside the IRS building, a budgetary convenience turned thematic point. Evelyn’s journey from believing that her daughter is possessed by some evil force to realizing that Jobu Tupaki really is just Joy is the most important thing about her journey through a real multiverse of madness. Beyond the visual and conceptual spectacle, Evelyn’s emotional journey, as portrayed by Yeoh, her relationship with Joy and Waymond, and her reflection on her life choices are what will give Everything Everywhere All At Once a lasting resonance.

Nominees: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Jonathan Wang, producers

Director: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert

Screenplay: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert

Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, James Hong, Jamie Lee Curtis

Production Companies: IAC Films, Gozie AGBO, Year of the Rat, Ley Line Entertainment

Distributor: A24

Release Date: March 25th, 2022

Total Nominations: 11, including Best Picture

Other Nominations: Actress-Michelle Yeoh; Director-Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert; Supporting Actress-Stephanie Hsu; Supporting Actress-Jamie Lee Curtis; Supporting Actor-Ke Huy Quan; Original Screenplay-Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert; Costume Design-Shirley Kurata; Editing-Paul Rogers; Original Score-Son Lux; Original Song-Ryan Lott, David Byrne, Mitski for "This Is a Life"

Best Pictures #80: 2021 (94th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee: Dune (2021)

 by A.J. 

Best Pictures #80:

2021 (94th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

Dune (2021)

 “Fear is the mind killer.”

Frank Herbert’s 1965 epic science-fiction/fantasy novel Dune has long been considered by many to be unfilmable. The fabulous documentary Jodorowsky's Dune details the attempt by cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky to adapt the novel. David Lynch’s 1984 version flopped on every front and, despite the cult following it has since built, seemed to prove the novel’s unfilmableness. Now, director Denis Villeneuve also proves that Dune is unfilmable, but in a different way. This version, co-written by Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth, adapts only half of the novel. However, it did succeed in creating a film that was a massive hit with critics and audiences. A sequel to adapt the rest of the novel was quickly greenlit. Dune (2021) is undeniably a great technical achievement but I was underwhelmed by the characters and story and suspect I only understood the plot and world of Dune because I had recently read the novel and had seen the David Lynch version.  

The plot, in its simplest form, is as follows: In the year 10191, the House of Atreides, led by Duke Leo Atreides (Oscar Isaac) is given charge of the desert planet of Arrakis, also called Dune, source of the spice-melange, a narcotic that makes space travel possible. The former ruling family, led by the evil Baron Harkonan (Stellan Skarsgard), springs a trap that sends the duke’s son, Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) and wife, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), a member of a mystical spiritual order, into the unlivable deserts of the planet only sparsely populated by the native Fremen people and giant sandworms. 

It’s no surprise that Dune received Oscar nominations for Sound and Visual Effects. The “thropter” aircrafts are particularly memorable and overall the visual effects blend CGI well with the practical elements of just about any scene. However, the Costume and Production Design nominations are more perplexing. The color palette is nearly monochromatic; everything is a shade of brown or beige or yellow. Many of the costumes are black, which doesn’t seem like a good color for the desert, and the interiors are large chambers that might be more impressive if they weren’t so empty.

Before arriving on Arrakis, Paul began having visions and may be the chosen one of ancient prophecies. Timothee Chalamet does a good job as the gifted but inexperienced Paul. Stellan Skarsgard, channeling Marlon Brando as Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now–he even emerges from shadows with water dripping over his bald head–is plenty villainous as Baron Harkonen. Rebecca Ferguson and Oscar Isaac also give good performances, yet I wasn't especially attached to any of the characters. Though the screenplay takes its time with only half of the novel, the film still feels like it is trying to cram in and explain a lot, leaving little time for characters to breathe or intrigue to grow. 

There is enough of a quasi-conclusion that you feel satisfied when the credits roll, though it is clear that the story is not over. I suppose I will watch the sequel/continuation when it is made, but I’m in no rush. However, I don’t think I’ll rewatch this version of Dune before I do; Denis Villanueve’s Dune isn’t a place I would like to revisit. This is a serious, humorless film that not only takes itself very seriously but demands you take it very seriously as well. That is hard to do when so much about the world Frank Herbert created is kind of weird and even silly (in this version we do not see the rhythmless walk Paul and Lady Jessica must do to not attract the worm). David Lynch’s adaptation, for all its flaws, embraced that weirdness and never tried to be “cool.” It took itself seriously but never asked that of the audience, which allows it to be fun. David Lynch’s Dune is a place I have been to many times.  

Nominees: Mary Parent, Denis Villeneuve, Cale Boyter, producers

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Screenplay: Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth

Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård

Release Date: October 22nd, 2021

Production Companies: Legendary Pictures

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Total Nominations: 10, including Best Picture

Wins: 6) Cinematography-Greig Fraser; Editing-Joe Walker; Original Score-Hans Zimmer; Production Design-Patrice Vermette (production design), Zsuzsanna Sipos (set decoration); Visual Effects-Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor, Gerd Nefzer; Sound-Mac Ruth, Mark A. Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill, Ron Bartlett

Other Nominations: Adapted Screenplay-Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth; Costume Design-Jacqueline West, Bob Morgan; Makeup and Hairstyling-Donald Mowat, Love Larson, Eva Von Bahr

13 Nights of Shocktober: Santa Sangre

 by A.J.

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month-long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. So, in the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some horror movie recommendations to help you celebrate Shocktober.

Night 10: Surreal Horror Night “My hands…my hands.”

Santa Sangre

It is hard for me to articulate why the films of avant-garde director Alejandro Jodorowsky fascinate and captivate me so much even though many of their defining traits are things that frustrate me in other art films. His films are strange and surreal, heavy on symbolism, magical realism, and absurd and grotesque but striking imagery. They are not subtle about their themes or symbols or attitudes towards politics, or religion, or society in general and aim to challenge artistic and filmmaking conventions. They are also filled with tenderness and sincerity. His films can be described as challenging, but Jodorowsky only means to challenge to audience only up to a point. It feels like his real intention is to change the way we view movies, art, and the wider world so that we can challenge those things together. There is no pretention or condescension in his films, only a welcoming invitation to a new experience and a new perspective. This is especially true of Santa Sangre, one of the strangest and most compassionate films I have seen.

Santa Sangre isn’t exactly a horror film, but it isn’t exactly any other kind of film either. There is violence, drama, humor, cruel characters, bizarre scenes, psychological horror, even elements of a slasher film, but also many moments of great emotion and sympathy. All of this is put together and handled so delicately that it feels like a magic trick.

The film opens with image of a nude man posed like bird on an oversized perch in a mental institution. In an extended flashback we see Fenix's traumatic childhood in a circus where he was the boy magician. His mother, Concha (Blanca Guerra), was the trapeze artist and also the leader of a religious sect that worships a saint whose arms were cut off by her rapists. His father, Orgo (Guy Stockwell), was the circus owner and knife thrower. He is crude, excessively macho, and having an affair with the tattooed woman, who is the mother of Fenix’s mute friend, Alma. One night Concha discovers Orgo's affair and throws acid on Orgo's genitals. He cuts off her arms and then cuts his own throat. Somehow, despite all of that, the most traumatic moment of that horrible night is the tattooed woman driving away with Alma in the backseat, her face against the window looking back at Fenix.  They watch each other being separated in a heartbreaking exchange.

When Fenix, now an adult, is beckoned by his mother, he escapes from the mental institution. Hiding behind her, he acts as her arms and hands in a stage show and also in their private moments. In these scenes the actors have so well-choreographed their movements that Concha really does seem to be controlling his hands and Fenix seems to know beforehand what Concha wants to do. Concha’s control over Fenix is domineering and somewhat mystical. Through controlling him psychologically she controls him physically, and this is how she exacts her revenge.

The first slashing is, like many things in this movie, a paradox: it is gruesome but also hokey. The victim stands behind a sheer curtain and a knife wielding hand stabbing in a cliched, mechanical motion. Bodies pile up, but unlike a slasher movie, the kill scenes are not the crux of the movie. Concha’s desire for complete control over her son results in any other woman being a threat. The slashings are a result of the horror and trauma Fenix has suffered and continues to suffer, so he is able to draw our sympathy even though he is also a murderer.  

This is a movie where a funeral march through town square for an elephant that ends with the elephant corpse being thrown into a canyon were residents of a shantytown cut it up for food is a footnote to the actual plot. Fenix paints the body of a victim white and buries her in a grave that glows and a bird rises out. A scene of a group of patients from the institution being taken to a red-light district with drugs and sex workers actually turns out alright. A large, muscular trans-woman wrestler turns out to be a gentle soul. Every scene contains something unexpected.

Santa Sangre was written by Jodorowsky, Robero Leoni, and Claudio Argento (brother of Italian filmmaker Dario Argento). I suppose this is technically a slasher movie, but it is a slasher movie as only Jodorowsky could make. It doesn’t feel like a traditional horror movie because of its emphasis on emotion and sympathy for its main character. Adult Fenix is played by Axel Jodorowsky, Alejandro’s son, and he does an amazing job playing a tortured, conflicted character. He is a gentle soul and you want desperately for him to be treated as such and be freed from his trauma. There are horror movies that have strong characters, likeable characters, characters you root and cheer for, but I don’t think there is another horror film that loves its main character as much as Santa Sangre loves Fenix, and that love is contagious.    

So why recommend Santa Sangre for Shocktober if it is not exactly horror movie? Well, if this movie is a magic trick, then I guess I want other people to see the trick. Santa Sangre is a dark fairy tale. No matter how bizarre or surreal, we accept the sights we see because they serve something more that just the images. Fairy tales use harsh situations and grim scenarios to teach a simple lesson or moral. So too does Santa Sangre use its garish, striking, but always memorable imagery and scenarios to convey something so simple we can only accept it if it is wrapped up in fantasy. At the climax there is a reveal that may not be a surprise but it is not meant to be. It is a revelation for Fenix and as such is deeply satisfying. It’s the moment we’ve been waiting for. What a unique character study. What a gentle and loving movie. The world is cruel and there are cruel people but kindness and love can still exist and we need not be cruel to ourselves; that only leads back to cruelty to others. This is a beautiful film, a reaction I’ve had only a handful of times.