The Film
At its most granular level, cinema is a delusion. By running still pictures in front of a projector at 24 frames per second, our brain is tricked into believing that they are moving. Further, each time we sit down in front of a film, we are asking to be transported away from our own world into one whose boundaries and conditions are set for us by the filmmakers, and to believe, for two hours or so, that this is a different reality that we are being allowed to experience.
At its broadest level, Arrebato is about two filmmakers. José (Eusebio Poncela) makes low budget horror. He doesn’t seem to like his films very much, but he’s clearly at least somewhat successful. On a location scout, he meets the other filmmaker, Pedro (Will More), who is in his late teens or early twenties, and makes experimental films playing around with frame rates.
At its most granular level, cinema is a delusion. By running still pictures in front of a projector at 24 frames per second, our brain is tricked into believing that they are moving. Further, each time we sit down in front of a film, we are asking to be transported away from our own world into one whose boundaries and conditions are set for us by the filmmakers, and to believe, for two hours or so, that this is a different reality that we are being allowed to experience.
At its broadest level, Arrebato is about two filmmakers. José (Eusebio Poncela) makes low budget horror. He doesn’t seem to like his films very much, but he’s clearly at least somewhat successful. On a location scout, he meets the other filmmaker, Pedro (Will More), who is in his late teens or early twenties, and makes experimental films playing around with frame rates.
- 5/4/2023
- by Sam Inglis
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Ivan Zulueta's Arrebato is one of those cult films that has remained elusive, even to many dedicated cinephiles. Its lack of proper release outside of Spain, its fluidic tone and tropes that make it somewhat hard to categorize, and that whispering, the whispering voice that is like a creeping fly buzzing around your ears, makes for a film that crawls under the skin in the best and worst ways. There's been a nice revival in late 70s/early 80s alternative and underground Spanish cinema lately, and it's nice to see the folks at Altered Innocence have taken up the Arrebato cause, bringing us a restoration and other goodies for a DVD & Blu-ray release. Film director José (Eusebio Poncela) is in post production on his latest...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 1/20/2022
- Screen Anarchy
Known as Pedro Almodóvar’s favorite horror film, 1979’s arthouse movie Arrebato (Rapture), is coming off its first U.S. theatrical run and going to video on demand and then DVD/Blu-ray. Altered Innocence has put together a stunning new 4K restoration of the mind-bending film about drug addiction, sex, and altered consciousness, written and directed by Spanish filmmaker and artist Iván Zulueta.
Playing like an extended drug trip, Arrebato opens with low budget filmmaker José Sirgado, played by Eusebio Poncela, editing a black and white vampire sequence from his latest horror movie. José is frustrated with the way the movie is coming along and leaves and goes home, where he finds his ex-girlfriend, Ana (Cecilia Roth), passed out. José receives an odd package in the mail which contains a cassette tape, a Super 8 film, and a key. The package is from an aspiring filmmaker named Pedro, played enthusiastically by Will More,...
Playing like an extended drug trip, Arrebato opens with low budget filmmaker José Sirgado, played by Eusebio Poncela, editing a black and white vampire sequence from his latest horror movie. José is frustrated with the way the movie is coming along and leaves and goes home, where he finds his ex-girlfriend, Ana (Cecilia Roth), passed out. José receives an odd package in the mail which contains a cassette tape, a Super 8 film, and a key. The package is from an aspiring filmmaker named Pedro, played enthusiastically by Will More,...
- 12/21/2021
- by Michelle Swope
- DailyDead
In one of the first scenes of Arrebato (1979), José (Eusebio Poncela), a B-movie director, argues with an editor over the final scene of what’s unmistakably a low-budget vampire flick—specifically, whether or not to include a shot of an actress making eye contact with the camera. “It’s the only interesting thing in the whole picture,” he says, yawning. “She stares at the audience, and they’ll get it that she’s delighted to be a vampire.” What seems so obvious that it’s boring to José is likely an homage to Bill Gunn’s ignored–in–America but adored–in–Europe Ganja & Hess (1973), which ends exactly as he describes: with a freshly–christened Ganja, dreamily locking eyes with viewers. Ganja and Hess / ArrebatoDespite his pretensions, José refuses to continue working—“Fuck the movies,” he says not a minute later. On his way out, he smears a few...
- 10/1/2021
- MUBI
It’s not until heroin is mentioned that Ana Turner (Cecilia Roth) stops and reconsiders the offer to partake by boyfriend José Sirgado (Eusebio Poncela). She’s game for acid and coke, but that stuff causes addiction. It ruins lives. “Not if you don’t take too much,” he says—a line he recently heard from an acquaintance named Pedro (Will More). This guy is a basket-case recluse who can barely muster two words while looking creepy in the corner of the room, staring daggers through the back of José’s skull. After snorting some heroin, though? He’s a Rhodes scholar ready to take on the world with slicked-back hair and confidence to spare. That’s when Pedro can explain his art and prove it’s more than what you can see.
This is a necessity, considering José is a “real” filmmaker scouting locations for his first movie starring Ana.
This is a necessity, considering José is a “real” filmmaker scouting locations for his first movie starring Ana.
- 9/28/2021
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
"Hallucinema!" Time to drop some acid and dive in. Altered Innocence has released a brand new trailer for the 4K restoration and re-release of the 1979 of Iván Zulueta's "cult masterpiece" 1979 feature Arrebato, which translates to Rapture. Described as "a dimension-shattering blend of heroin, sex, and Super-8 is the final word on cinemania. This towering feat of counterculture was the final film from Zulueta, Spanish cult filmmaker and movie poster designer." It's apparently Pedro Almodóvar's favorite horror film (he calls it "an absolute modern classic") and is also said to capture "an addiction/obsession to cinema better than any other film that I can think of..." The very meta Spanish film is about a filmmaking trying to make his second film, much like Zulueta. A low budget horror filmmaker gets in touch with an eccentric who is trying to film his consciousness during intense drug abuse. Starring Eusebio Poncela,...
- 9/17/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
In April Showers, Team Tfe looks at our favorite waterlogged moments in the movies. Here's Manuel on Law of Desire (1987).
Almodóvar is the air again due to Chus Lampreave's passing and his latest, Julieta getting solid reviews (his best since Volver). And since April is “Actor Month” here at Tfe let's kill two birds with one stone by looking at a small scene featuring Antonio Banderas and Eusebio Poncela from the 1987 classic Law of Desire.
The film centers on Antonio (Banderas) and his obsessive fixation with a gay film director (Poncela). After stalking him and eventually roping his way into his life, Antonio settles on trying to shape Pablo after his own image. First, he fixes some things around Pablo’s messy apartment, including some tiles in his shower, and then, the next day he takes it upon himself to set some sort of routine for them.
Almodóvar is the air again due to Chus Lampreave's passing and his latest, Julieta getting solid reviews (his best since Volver). And since April is “Actor Month” here at Tfe let's kill two birds with one stone by looking at a small scene featuring Antonio Banderas and Eusebio Poncela from the 1987 classic Law of Desire.
The film centers on Antonio (Banderas) and his obsessive fixation with a gay film director (Poncela). After stalking him and eventually roping his way into his life, Antonio settles on trying to shape Pablo after his own image. First, he fixes some things around Pablo’s messy apartment, including some tiles in his shower, and then, the next day he takes it upon himself to set some sort of routine for them.
- 4/12/2016
- by Manuel Betancourt
- FilmExperience
Brace yourselves. This list of the Top 100 Greatest Gay Movies is probably going to generate some howls of protest thanks to a rather major upset in the rankings. Frankly, one that surprised the hell out of us here at AfterElton.
But before we get to that, an introduction. A few weeks ago we asked AfterElton readers to submit up to ten of their favorite films by write-in vote. We conducted a similar poll several years ago, but a lot has happened culturally since then, and a number of worthy movies of gay interest have been released. We wanted to see how your list of favorites had changed.
We also wanted to expand our list to 100 from the top 50 we had done previously. We figured there were finally enough quality gay films to justify the expansion. And we wanted to break out gay documentaries onto their own list (You'll find the...
But before we get to that, an introduction. A few weeks ago we asked AfterElton readers to submit up to ten of their favorite films by write-in vote. We conducted a similar poll several years ago, but a lot has happened culturally since then, and a number of worthy movies of gay interest have been released. We wanted to see how your list of favorites had changed.
We also wanted to expand our list to 100 from the top 50 we had done previously. We figured there were finally enough quality gay films to justify the expansion. And we wanted to break out gay documentaries onto their own list (You'll find the...
- 9/11/2012
- by AfterElton.com Staff
- The Backlot
On Monday night, AFI Fest Guest Artistic Director Pedro Almodovar presented his 1987 film “La Ley del Deseo” (“Law of Desire”), a dreamy, melodramatic noir about lust, jealousy and violence, starring Antonio Banderas, Carmen Maura and Eusebio Poncela. The presentation at Grauman’s Chinese Theater began with a series of clips from the past 25 years of films from El Deseo, the film company operated by Almodovar and his brother Agustin that has produced all of their films to date. During an entertaining Q and A with festival director Jacqueline Lyanga, Almodovar talked about the themes of his work, his influences, his working partnership with his brother and his longstanding relationships with actors. He also promised (and failed to deliver) on word that Antonio Banderas would "dance a tango almost naked for you."...
- 11/9/2011
- Indiewire
On Monday night, AFI Fest Guest Artistic Director Pedro Almodovar presented his 1987 film “La Ley del Deseo” (“Law of Desire”), a dreamy, melodramatic noir about lust, jealousy and violence, starring Antonio Banderas, Carmen Maura and Eusebio Poncela. The presentation at Grauman’s Chinese Theater began with a series of clips from the past 25 years of films from El Deseo, the film company operated by Almodovar and his brother Agustin that has produced all of their films to date. During an entertaining Q and A with festival director Jacqueline Lyanga, Almodovar talked about the themes of his work, his influences, his working partnership with his brother and his longstanding relationships with actors. He also promised (and failed to deliver) on word that Antonio Banderas would "dance a tango almost naked for you."...
- 11/9/2011
- The Playlist
AFI Fest 2011 Guest Artistic Director Pedro Almodóvar has selected the following classic thrillers to be presented at the festival: Georges Franju's Eyes Without a Face, Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Cercle rouge, Edmund Goulding's Nightmare Alley, and Robert Siodmak's The Killers. Why this particular quartet? "Because in some way, albeit tangentially, they have a relationship with my present." Eyes Without a Face, in which a doctor uses the skin of young women to help restore the face of his disfigured daughter, certainly has some elements in common with Almodóvar's latest, The Skin I Live In. Pierre Brasseur and Alida Valli shine in this creepily poetic classic. The crime thriller Le Cercle rouge stars Alain Delon, Yves Montand, Gian Maria Volonté, and veteran Bourvil. Starring Tyrone Power as a carnival shyster, Nightmare Alley is less an outright thriller than a dark melodrama; it was also a box-office disappointment at...
- 10/25/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Up until last year, film festivals had always been a bit of a mystery to me. I had gone to a few conventions before and been shown advanced screenings of films, but to actually go to an event where all you did was watch films seemed a bit beyond my reach. Didn’t help either that I had never really lived in areas with affordable or frequent festivals. That is, up until last year when I was introduced to AFI Fest. They hooked me in with free tickets and the promise of engaging cinema from around the world. To say I had fun is a bit of an understatement. As the credits to the last film rolled, I decided that I would come back next year in a more professional manner and write about it.
Which brings us to now. AFI Fest 2011 Presented by Audi is a little over a...
Which brings us to now. AFI Fest 2011 Presented by Audi is a little over a...
- 10/24/2011
- by Jonathan Hardesty
- Flickchart
A darkly comic gem of a thriller with genius performances by leads Emilio Disi and Eusebio Poncela. This Argentinian gem of an indie thriller opens with a Spaniard (Eusebio Poncela) walking on the Moroccan desert with his camel. He does not have the sense to stay out of the thunderstorm and is hit by lightning. He is amazed to find himself still alive after the lightning strike and decides to continue. After all, there is no chance that lighting will strike in the same place twice. Yet, he is struck again. Still undead, he awakes to find himself gifted with a strange power. He has the power to allow mortal humans to relive portions of their lives. They go out...
- 8/8/2011
- by Ron Wilkinson
- Monsters and Critics
There are few pleasures in life as great as walking into a film completely unaware as to its plot or purpose and walking out thrilled with the results. Okay, that’s clearly an exaggeration, but there are very few that don’t involve knee pads, whip cream, and tongue depressors. But I digress. Somewhere in the Spanish desert sits Uncanca, a casino filled with sweat, alcohol, and desperation. An old man on a Roulette winning streak triggers a call to the casino’s cooler, Federico (Eusebio Poncela). With a simple touch of his hand, the gambler’s luck runs out and he loses his final bet to the house. Federico leaves the casino floor and ventures into the basement where he meets a man wearing a black velvet bag over his head. If you predicted Max von Sydow was the man beneath the hood you would be correct and incredibly lucky… unlike...
- 4/13/2011
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Luck of the Irish is all well and good, but how about luck of the Spaniard? Or the Jews? They're more powerful than you think. So powerful, in fact, that men would kill for them. You'll find this in Spain's 2001 quasi-fantasy Intacto, a stylishly-shot feature debut from Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who later directed 28 Weeks Later and is currently slated to deliver the BioShock movie.
Driven by the human fallibility of its flawed characters as much as a series of quaint mini-games, Intacto is an introspective thriller with a paranormal premise. Consider, the film asks, that luck operates like any other commodity. It can be won, played with, gambled away or even stolen. What, then, would its seedy underbelly look like? It’s an original and Hollywood-ready premise that would make an easy sci-fi pleaser, hence my surprise that, 8 years later, we still don’t have a more mainstream remake of...
Driven by the human fallibility of its flawed characters as much as a series of quaint mini-games, Intacto is an introspective thriller with a paranormal premise. Consider, the film asks, that luck operates like any other commodity. It can be won, played with, gambled away or even stolen. What, then, would its seedy underbelly look like? It’s an original and Hollywood-ready premise that would make an easy sci-fi pleaser, hence my surprise that, 8 years later, we still don’t have a more mainstream remake of...
- 3/20/2010
- by Arya Ponto
- JustPressPlay.net
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