El Conde

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://fandomwire.com/el-conde-venice-film-festival-review-a-vampirically-efficient-satire/

"El Conde delivers an effective, brutally gory sociopolitical satire packed with sarcastic commentary, offering an amusing narrative that compares the eternity of vampires with the impunity of the Chilean dictator's crimes.

Technically wonderful, employing a stunning black-and-white canvas that will leave any cinephile delighted, as well as excellent contributions from cinematography, score, and editing for a captivating immersive experience.

Underdeveloped characters and repetitive messages remove some of the biggest impact the film could have had."

Rating: B+

Discussed on the 10th September 2023 Awesome Friday Podcast! While we both love the visuals and the performances, we did not vibe with the movie. And it's definitely a vibes movie.

Listen to the show here:

• Home: https://awesomefriday.ca/2023/09/podcast-the-meg-2-the-trench-el-conde/
• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/awesome-friday/id480100293?i=1000627430169
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3G2sJ5Erqyj01tUI02bD67?si=RDX8scb_SC2ugvPBzopRVg
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqkNj-bTxvM

Are politicians fundamentally just vampires, in disguise?

El Conde crafts a clever tale that weaves the life of the vampire, with that of the politician.

It draws on two, well known, right wing, political figures, from Chilean and UK politics. The notorious Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet and the iron lady of UK politics, Margaret Thatcher.

This is a surreal, highly watchable experience, that's at times brutal, and visually, compellingly beautiful.

Its not perfect. Its starts and ends convincingly, cleverly drawing together the threads of the story. What happens in between, can come across, as a little too diffuse and disordered, at times, to really represent anything contextually cohesive.

In summary, this is a highly o...

Fusing cinematic genres can be tricky, especially if the mix doesnt mesh. But the latest from writer-director Pablo Larraín successfully pulls off a brilliantly original blend and does so just about perfectly. This metaphorical account of the life of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet (1915-2006) (Jaime Vadell) portrays the onetime-strongman as a vampire a la Dracula (hence the title and the characters nickname, the Count), shot in the style of F.W. Murnaus black-and-white silent film classic, Nosferatu (1922). The story charts the immortals life from his birth as orphaned royalist Claude Pinoche in late 18th Century France through the many military campaigns in which he fought to put down radical rebellions before finally rising to p...

The real-world history of Pinochet et al should be common knowledge. Add the vampire aspect in, and you've got a starting point for an interesting story.

There was potential in the concept, but the result here doesn't go beyond a comedy show skit - with two hours runtime.

The actors are given little to work with, so despite competence and good efforts, half the characters are and stay clichéd. What saves it from being a complete waste of time is the development of Vampire relationships; especially the modernised Renfield is well done.

But what's with the decrepit barracks which turn out to be some kind of a farm? A set of one-story buildings having secret passages and dungeons doesn't make sense; if there was a specific story or c...