If Pedro Almodovar is the king of contemporary Spanish film, then Alex
de la Iglesia is the wanton prince of that royal court...
Alex de la Iglesia is certainly the most ferocious offspring of Spanish film
in the 90's. Also he is one more proof of how strong Spanish cinematography is
in terms of European and world film context. From the time when he first
appeared he became a cult figure and with each new film he only confirms that,
which is not so common in the film world. Especially if we bear in mind that he
is a European director. Often, because of his success, he is compared to the
famous Pedro Almodovar. This comparison, if we add to it a little freedom and
imagination, can be stated this way: if Pedro Almodovar is the king of
the contemporary Spanish film, then Alex de la Iglesia is the wanton prince
of that royal court.
Comic books had a great impact on Iglesia’s film expression. He was so
fascinated by it that he himself drew them. In that field he was already
successful – his comics were published in different magazines and daily
newspapers. His imagination is certainly not questionable, and his adoration of
the world of imagination is also confirmed by the fact that he is a great fan of
the fantasy role playing game Dungeons & Dragons. There is no doubt that
is a fertile ground for making movies!
His films are imaginative, imbued with sharp black humor. Sometimes they are
painful and harsh society satires. Some of his films can be compared to those by
the American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino because they sputter with violence,
energetic sex and sharp editing cuts. But, it would be inadequate to compare
these two authors because that discussion would soon turn into the old dilemma
of: which came first – chicken or the egg? Some of those things which are
now considered to be “Tarantino-like”, Iglesia already used in his first short
film in 1991 Mirindas asesinas, (a short reminder, Tarantino appeared a
year later with his film Reservoir Dogs). Those who saw Iglesia then,
already knew who he was. The film tells a story about a man who walks into a bar
and asks the barman for a Mirinda (Spanish orange soda). He refuses to pay
because he was not told to do so. At the end the man kills the barman and makes
one of the guests serve him the drink. Mirindas asesinas carries in it
the original comics like imagination of Iglesia, who, with this first film,
clearly showed what was to be expected from him in the future.
A year later, the king Pedro Almodovar produced Iglesia’s first feature
film Acción mutante, a black SF comedy, full of bizarre human creatures.
And Almodovar did not make a mistake, (well, how could he!), for this film he
won three Goya awards and Iglesia was nominated for the best directing
debut. All this was enough for the beginning of his cult status. It is also
important to mention that in this film he started his long term collaboration
with his screenwriting partner – Jorge Guerricaechevarria.
El Día de la bestia followed in 1995, a satanic action comedy, a crazy
Christmas story, written with wicked intentions. Iglesia’s idea for the
film: to put a helpless person in the middle of the greatest event in the
history of mankind, similar to a story by Howard Phillips Lovecraft, but taken
to the extremes. The film was very popular and one of the biggest hits in Spain
that year. Naturally, the awards were certain: six Goyas (in Iglesia’s
own hands), Bruxelles, Montreal.
In the year 1997 he made his most ferocious film Perdita Durango.
Perdita is often compared to Wild at Heart (1990) by David Lynch.
That is not surprising at all, for it was also based on a novel by Barry
Gifford, who also had his fingers in the Lynch film. This undoubtedly cult
achievement could be called a trash exploitation film, which copied from
many action films of the 70’s. But this copying is completely original in its
essence (e.g. the superiority of Latin-Americans over white Americans) and is
enriched with excellent and characteristic black humor.
He made La Comunidad, "comics like comedy with real people", in
2000. The film is based on the director’s comic book and is the interpretation
of his pop-art vision of the world of the inhabitants in an old house in Madrid
(the original title refers to such an “association of citizens”). From the
characters to the story itself, everything is a big comic book.
In Muertos de risa (1999), a story about two comedians on a TV show who
can’t stand each other anymore, he deals with television. Television as a media
was present also in El Día de la bestia and Acción mutante. For
Iglesia television is the only existing media that can reach anyone, it is
the means to understand the world. This is his famous statement:"...
Through television I discovered film and many other things: foreign countries,
entertainment… It is stupid to deny that. I think about things that I would like
to talk about in my films and television is one of them…".
In his newest film 800 balas (2002) he revives the genre of western. He
refers to several films of that genre, even copies some scenes from Sedam
samuraja (Shichinin no samurai, 1954) by the famous Akira Kurosawa and
integrates them into his western.
Shocking, entertaining, grotesque, bizarre, black humor, action, explosive,
bloody and blasphemous – Alex de la Iglesia is all of these. And, to everyone’s
satisfaction, the wanton prince goes further, non stop and full speed
ahead! (Tihomil Hamilton)