24/09/2024 - Albert Serra presents a daring and truly extraordinary film about the world of bullfighting, painting the portrait of a matador and his entourage

The life of bullfighter Andrés Roca Rey (one of the heavy hitters of modern-day bullfighting, the winner of the 2016 Torero Revelación Award and almost like a rock star of the trade, regularly selling myriad tickets) over the course of one day of fighting, from the moment he puts on his matador’s outfit until he takes it off again. These are the images that comprise the new feature by Catalonian filmmaker Albert Serra, Afternoons of Solitude [+see also:
trailer
interview: Albert Serra
film profile], a sort of documentary (albeit not a pure one) about bullfighting, the starting point of which is painting the portrait of famous toreador Roca Rey and his entourage. It has been presented in the Official Section of the San Sebastián Film Festival.

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Because that’s what the film is: images that are suggestive of ideas, emotions, feelings and moods. We see the fight between human and animal, instinct and reason, and life and death; we glimpse the essence of tragedy, violence, suffering, pain, passion, ambition, solitude, atavism, the sublime, the beautiful and the sinister. The images of bullfights that course through Serra’s film and all that happens in them – the matador willing to die and to kill, his moments of glory and weakness, his relationship with those around him, the blood-stained bull at death’s door or dying – talk about those opposing ideas in the specific context of the film. Serra puts himself right in the middle of the bullring, turns on the camera and lets the images do the talking, almost without addressing the viewer. He shows the invisible, the unseen, that which we would not see or hear if we were in that same real-life setting – that which only he sees and captures with the camera lens or through the microphone. The narrators inadvertently end up being the very members of the matador’s entourage with their dialogue and comments, their idiosyncrasies, their laconic way of talking or communicating amongst themselves.

The end result is a film that is steeped in a kind of spontaneous atmosphere and becomes a hypnotic, sensorial immersion – with a slightly psychedelic and epic tone – in this world of bullfighting, in the truth and the solitude of the matador. The director captures that physical and metaphorical solitude, and portrays his protagonist as a type of classical hero who wishes to live on for eternity through his feats during his lifetime, who dives headfirst into killing and dying while yearning to be remembered in death. Along with that, from an intimate perspective, the film also emerges as a collective portrait of the bullfighting microcosm, a depiction that goes beyond what is visible and audible. It’s able to dive deeper and reflect all that lies behind that world, the impulses that drive it, the beliefs, the rituals, the desires, the strengths and the weaknesses that make it up.

While following a certain style (or perhaps a certain form of understanding the cinematic narrative) from Pacifiction [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Albert Serra
film profile], but still being original, Serra, through his work with images and their potential, framing, colours, textures, sounds, pacing, timing, tone and attention to detail, takes a highly unique approach to exploring bullfighting. It’s a singular documentary (able to transcend its most common genres and codes) with a poetic, personal and daring gaze, steering clear of political correctness, which, over and above any moralism or reflection (don’t bother looking for any kind of message, as there isn’t one), seeks out and finds that latent hypnotism.

Afternoon of Solitude is a film that goes against the grain. It’s a cinematic, sensorial experience, a journey through those solitary afternoons of the matador and his entourage, through that struggle between human and animal, and the thin line that separates life and death. It’s probably one of the most impressive films at this edition of San Sebastián and, without doubt, is a truly extraordinary and fascinating movie. 

Afternoons of Solitude is a co-production by Andergraun Films (Spain), LaCima Producciones (Spain), Idéale Audience (France) and Rosa Filmes (Portugal). Films Boutique handles its international sales.

(Translated from Spanish)

Photogallery 23/09/2024: San Sebastian 2024 - Tardes de soledad

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Albert Serra, Montse Triola, Ricard Sales
© 2024 Dario Caruso for Cineuropa - @studio.photo.dar, Dario Caruso