One for the Schprock

A while ago, my friend Mr. Schprock gave me a movie assignment, Hitchcock's Frenzy. Now I have one for him: Carlos Saura's El Amor Brujo.

I mentioned Saura's flamenco trilogy in my discussion of Tango. El Amor Brujo is probably the greatest of them. It is a story of doomed love in a gypsy slum, set to Manuel de Falla's classic ballet of the same name. Candela (Cristina Hoyos) is betrothed in childhood to Jose, although she is loved by Carmelo (Antonio Gades). At the wedding, Jose gets into a fight over pretty Lucia (Laura del Sol) and is stabbed in the melee. Carmelo takes the rap.

When Carmelo gets out of jail and returns to the camp, he finds that Candela dances every night with Jose's ghost, and sets out to free her.

Gades is an amazing dancer, and choreographs as well. We'd have to ask Ms. Schprock, but I think Gades resembles our friend the Schprockster. He is tall, with a hawk nose and deep set, hooded eyes that show sorrow even when he smiles. Cristina Hoyos is also phenomenal, with a jolie-laide (beautiful-ugly, oddly attractive) face, something like Angelica Huston's. Laura del Sol, as the ingenue, is strikingly beautiful and not a bad dancer either. This triangle (older man, talented woman, beautiful girl) is repeated in many of Saura's movies, including Tango. I wonder if it is autobiographical, or just a good story hook.

There is less dancing in this film than I remembered - maybe Blood Wedding would be better for that. There is a lot of flamenco singing - very raw - and the rhythm of flamenco permeates the set, children jumping rope, knife-fighting class, women hanging the laundry, all to the flamenco beat. Possibly not classic, puro flamenco, but with the soul, the duende.

Bonus - Spanish Gypsy Flamenco disco act Azucar Moreno ("Brown Sugar") perform their hit "Azucar Moreno". Best flamenco disco act EVER!

In conclusion: Schprock! Watch this and report!