FLAMENCO (G)
Documentary Director: Carlos Saura
Running Time: 100 minutes.
In his latest film, acclaimed Spanish director Carlos Saura attempts to capture the intensity, passion, spontaneity and
percussive rhythms of flamenco music. One of the most expensive and ambitious dance documentaries ever mounted for the
screen, Flamenco is a personal labour of love for Saura, who, in the early '80's, made the acclaimed "dance trilogy" comprising
Blood Wedding, Carmen, and El Amor Brujo, which were all basically contemporary adaptations of classical ballets.
In Flamenco Saura further displays his passion for the dance and music traditions of his native Spain. Saura has gathered
together hundreds of dancers, singers and musicians to perform for the cameras, and, over the course of 100 minutes, they
enthusiastically demonstrate the wide variety of song, dance and classical music styles of this traditional art form. There is no
conventional narrative structure here and the film effortlessly segues from one dance performance to another. The lack of
subtitles may initially disappoint and lead to a temporary lack of understanding for some members of the audience, but it is
essentially the spontaneity and emotions of the music that Saura sets out to capture for the cameras, and that certainly comes
across in the performances.
Filmed entirely inside an abandoned railway station in Seville, the staging is simplicity itself. The basic props used include
tables, chairs, mirrors and a few strategically placed screens, but with imaginative use of lighting and shadows, Saura and ace
cinematographer, triple Oscar winner Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now, etc), collaborate to capture some striking visual
contrasts and dazzling images that give the film an exciting surface style.
Ultimately, Flamenco may lack the excitement, flamboyance, sheer energy and awesome power of the heavily hyped Irish
dance phenomenon Riverdance, but there are moments of vibrant colour and energy here that will capture the imagination.
While flamenco music and dance is obviously something of an acquired taste it can seem very repetitive to the uninitiated and,
for some, watching this film will be a bit like sitting through an extended video collection of flamenco's greatest hits. Ultimately
Saura's Flamenco will be of greatest interest to audiences who enjoyed the infectious rhythms of life that were such a large part
of Latcho Drom, the recent documentary exploring the gradual development of indigenous gypsy culture and music across
Europe.