User Reviews

An extremely interesting film about La Violencia in Colombia which captures the strange social and political heterogeneity of this dark set of events. Mayolo developed his own aesthetic - partly in collaboration with filmmaker Luis Ospina and the late Andrés Caicedo - 'el gótico tropical' in order to convey this strangeness. The film combines local Colombian myths - caspi, la madremonte, el hojarasquin del monte - with themes of vampirism and incest to convey the place of La Violencia within a repetitive and cyclical history characterised by interpartisan conflicts that benefit the empowerment of the Colombian aristocracy. Opening with a series of cross-cuts showing, alternately, a dying grandmother, and a group of graverobbbers in the countryside of the Cauca region, the film (as suggested by these images) delves deep into the 'other scene' of political life and into the dark quasi- supernatural forces driving it. Whether Mayolo's 'tropical Gothic' works is another matter, and whether it is Gothic or indeed baroque is a question that the spectator might wish to ask him/herself. Some of the performances are strong (particularly Mayolo's own cameo as the family chauffeur-cum 'pájaro'), others, however, are fairly weak - in particular that of Andrés Alfonso and Enrique, the Communist uncle, whose performances waver between the wooden and the melodramatic. The whirring, moaning soundtrack nicely conveys the sense of historical repetition.

I watched Carne De Tu Carne so that I could tick it off in my battered Aurum Encyclopedia of Horror, but what it's doing there I really don't know: it didn't really feel like a horror film to me. There's a couple of teenagers who slurp blood and eventually turn into zombies, but there is no attempt to generate an atmosphere of fear or deliver scares. My guess is that the whole thing is allegorical, representing the political turmoil of Colombia during the 1950s, using traditional folklore to tell the story. Or something like that. To be honest, I didn't understand what was going on for much of the time.

It opens in full-on confusing mode: a group of men putting up fences uncover a burial site, while others add corpses to a pile of fresh bodies. Then a bloke places the barrel of his shotgun over a turkey's beak and pulls the trigger (a nasty spot of real animal violence), and a man is given a pot containing severed ears. Colour me confused.

The film then follows members of a wealthy Colombian family who gather for the reading of the will of grandmother Maria Josefa. Two of the beneficiaries-half-siblings Andres (David Guerrero) and Margaret (Adriana Herrán)-listen to rock and roll records and develop an unhealthy incestuous relationship (Elvis has a lot to answer for). An explosion rocks the neighbourhood, forcing the family to head for a house in the country. Andres and Margaret pay a visit to their black-sheep uncle Enrique (Josué Ángel), have sex (while ghostly ancestors look on), shoot someone and drink his blood, and run off with someone's baby. It's all very strange.

Perhaps all of this surreal weirdness would mean more to me if I were well-versed in the history and superstitions of Colombia, but I'm not.

this is an excellent movie from mr. mayolo. this movie gives to the public the chance of understanding many things cause it´s very dark and surreal. awesome fotography and art direction supported by good performances. this film touches many witch-craft stories from colombian beliefs. watch it sober and carefully cause, believe me, you´ll get high on this one.