El CondeIf you find yourself the corrupt dictator of a country following a coup d'etat, you should expect history to revile you as a monster. What El Conde ("The Count") does is make a dictator--Augusto Pinochet (Jaime Vadell), in this case--a literal monster: a vampire, to be specific, and gets creative with his history. Apparently, "Pinochet" was born in the 18th century as "Claude Pinoche (Clemente Rodríguez)", and also a vampire, who steals the head of Marie Antoinette, then goes into hiding, emerging in Chile later. Then, he fakes his death and lives out his unlife in a remote farm with his scheming wife, Lucia (Gloria Münchmeyer), and their scheming "white Russian" butler, Fyodor (Alfredo Castro). Then his kids and a nun show up, because somebody's been killing people and eating their hearts. Weirdness (even more weirdness than that) ensues.
|
|
Directed and co-written by Pablo Larraín, El Conde is superficially a horror movie (albeit a very odd one), but at its core it is truly a political satire (and a scathing one, at that). I feel that the film's intended audience would be Chileans who suffered under the oppression and corruption of Pinoche's military junta and presidency, since his villainy as a ruler of Chile is meant to be already understood in the context of the film rather than revisited. What is interesting is that, living in the United States, there was little to nothing that I knew about his relationship with Margaret Thatcher, which (pardon my coyness so as to avoid spoilers) also illustrates Chileans perceptions of Great Britain's "Iron Lady". El Conde doesn't hold back in its indictment of Pinochet, relating details of his nepotism and the corruption of his children and so on by way of the investigations of a nun named Carmen (Paula Luchsinger), who is hired (by the kids) to "exorcise" their father. See, the kids figure that their fanged daddy has hidden away his wealth somewhere, and that since he now "wants" to die, they figure that they can uncover his inheritance and...facilitate his transition into the hereafter. But Carmen has her own motivations, and uses this opportunity to openly critique everyone for their selfishness and evil schemes (on behalf of the audience). Meanwhile, it appears that "The Count"--what the narrator (Stella Gonet) explains is what Pinochet desires for his family to call him, although they never do--has been flying over the skyline of Santiago, stealing hearts (literally) to make...blood smoothies. (I guess blenders are ubiquitous in Chile, and powerful enough to pulp a human heart?) While Carmen's interviews with the adult children recounts some of the most corrupt events in this dictator's history--presuming that the audience is already predisposed to loathe Pinochet--his villainy is underscored by way of his brutal and depraved...dietary predilection.
Although Netflix shows are (on the whole) notorious for being oddly impatient yet somehow manage to drag on, to their credit, many of the more recent movies found on the streaming app have been stellar. (Not all...not by a country mile, but plenty of them are very good, like Blonde or The Pale Blue Eye.) El Conde is no exception, as it successfully combines weirdness, black humor, political satire, and even horror into a deft danse macabre. It's clear that the filmmakers have strong feelings about what Pinochet's regime did to their nation, but rather than assault the viewers with yet another tired political biopic, they've taken an inspired route by making a film that is truly funny, even for the uninformed. The setting (a gutted farmhouse, complete with a secret elevator in the stables) is a bizarre locale, but it fits neatly with the already bizarre conceit. There are plenty of barbs launched at various institutions, but it is done in a way that feels witty. (Perhaps this is because I lack the first-hand experience that the filmmakers may have had at feeling like their nation had been stolen away from them.) Carmen (and who she represents) is one of the best examples of this, and at the risk of spoilers, she is framed at times as a "Joan of Arc" figure (underscored by the picture's black and white expressionism), a neurotic seductress, a snarky accountant, and heck, even as a "flying nun"! Since the story takes some truly strange turns, I'll do my best to avoid spoiling anything directly. Suffice to say, Pinochet is presented as an old grandpa-type, and occasionally tosses his walker away for dramatic effect, sometimes resulting in a comical face plant. There's a pervasive sense of injustice at his mere existence, especially after his faked "death" deprives the film's intended audience of that sense of "closure" at his passing. After all, the tyrant continues his crimes and even death can't bring justice to him. The political satire may be the "seasoning" for this comedy/horror film, but it is a flavor that makes itself present in virtually every scene. I believe that audiences will glean more from watching El Conde if they have at least a passing understanding of why Pinochet's legacy is such a reviled one.
Recommended for: Fans of an unorthodox horror film, that banks more sharply into humor than terror. Audiences aware of Augusto Pinochet will easily get more out of El Conde, but for the uninitiated and film buffs, I would perhaps recommend starting with Missing by Costa-Gavras for a simple primer.
Although Netflix shows are (on the whole) notorious for being oddly impatient yet somehow manage to drag on, to their credit, many of the more recent movies found on the streaming app have been stellar. (Not all...not by a country mile, but plenty of them are very good, like Blonde or The Pale Blue Eye.) El Conde is no exception, as it successfully combines weirdness, black humor, political satire, and even horror into a deft danse macabre. It's clear that the filmmakers have strong feelings about what Pinochet's regime did to their nation, but rather than assault the viewers with yet another tired political biopic, they've taken an inspired route by making a film that is truly funny, even for the uninformed. The setting (a gutted farmhouse, complete with a secret elevator in the stables) is a bizarre locale, but it fits neatly with the already bizarre conceit. There are plenty of barbs launched at various institutions, but it is done in a way that feels witty. (Perhaps this is because I lack the first-hand experience that the filmmakers may have had at feeling like their nation had been stolen away from them.) Carmen (and who she represents) is one of the best examples of this, and at the risk of spoilers, she is framed at times as a "Joan of Arc" figure (underscored by the picture's black and white expressionism), a neurotic seductress, a snarky accountant, and heck, even as a "flying nun"! Since the story takes some truly strange turns, I'll do my best to avoid spoiling anything directly. Suffice to say, Pinochet is presented as an old grandpa-type, and occasionally tosses his walker away for dramatic effect, sometimes resulting in a comical face plant. There's a pervasive sense of injustice at his mere existence, especially after his faked "death" deprives the film's intended audience of that sense of "closure" at his passing. After all, the tyrant continues his crimes and even death can't bring justice to him. The political satire may be the "seasoning" for this comedy/horror film, but it is a flavor that makes itself present in virtually every scene. I believe that audiences will glean more from watching El Conde if they have at least a passing understanding of why Pinochet's legacy is such a reviled one.
Recommended for: Fans of an unorthodox horror film, that banks more sharply into humor than terror. Audiences aware of Augusto Pinochet will easily get more out of El Conde, but for the uninitiated and film buffs, I would perhaps recommend starting with Missing by Costa-Gavras for a simple primer.