The usual complaint with Spanish cinema is that it becomes too obsessed with the Civil War. Regardless of whether the data proves this frequent opinion right (spoiler: no, they don’t), confronting a specific period in the history of a country on a recurring basis does not have to be negative, especially if they find things to say, or funny ways to tell them. And few more suitable for both one and the other course as Alex de la Iglesia.
The irreverent author from Bilbao has never had a weak hand when it comes to load your approach to fantastic cinema with a social message. His recently released ‘Veneciafrenia’ is proof of this, launching bites against mass tourism while letting the blood flow and the most giallo self-confidence on screen. Although, in regards to make balance of commentary and brown show, few stand out as much as one of the essentials of his filmography, which we have on HBO Max. We’re talking, of course, about ‘Sad Trumpet Ballad’.
From sad clown to killer clown
By way of context, we begin by being transferred to a Spanish circus during the year 1937, where Republican soldiers break in to take away people who fight against the national side, including a clown (Safe Santiago).
This event marks his son in a certain way (Carlos Areces), who as an adult, during the last stage of Francoism, he gets into the family business as a sad clown in a company. There he meets Sergio (Anthony of the Tower), a clown with whom he will compete in several aspects, including in the conquest of the love of an attractive trapeze artist (Caroline Bang).
With a title straight out of a great song by raphael‘Sad Trumpet Ballad’ establishes with these rival clowns a clear parallelism with the opposing sides during the war. The two Spains, so talked about, represented in two psychopaths dressed up for jokes. It’s quite a kamikaze undertaking on the director’s part, but he manages to pull it off precisely because of create with it a singular proposalwhose social commentary is told with such revelry that it is difficult not to be on his side.
What you are trying to do is very risky, because that X-ray of our history, embodied in two increasingly sinister and deformed freaks, performs it with a combination of revenge thriller, wacky slasher and very black comedy. It is very difficult to find the right tone with these ingredients, but De la Iglesia already had several years and films behind him to be able to find that required balance. The rabid bile of him puts the rest to consolidate it as an urgent and devastating film.
‘Sad trumpet ballad’: festive and unhinged
For this reason, if the only problem that you can point out to ‘Balada triste de trompeta’ is its Francoist theme, you will be falling into an unfair superficiality. Of the Church believe here one of his must see moviesnot only because of what he decides to criticize, but because of the festive and crazy way he has of telling it, giving a overwhelming film of murderous clowns of irreproachable visual power. Beyond problems that are common in his cinema, it is a phenomenal experience.