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7/10
¨Dead mother¨ potently challenges the viewer with impressive images , intense drama and unsettling events
ma-cortes30 August 2013
Downbeat but excellent film about tragic deeds occur a dim-witted girl and lead a cruel nightmare . Emotive drama , thriller , grim tragedy , and befittingly photographed . It deals with an unfortunate girl , a nasty killer and his fiancée , including engaging interpretation , and acceptable direction . This Spanish picture is an enjoyable story with an interesting characterizing about a few characters , tragic drama and thought-provoking events . The movie caught the attention of the Spanish media and spectators because of its shocking visual style and the crude scenario . It deals with an extremely merciless villain named Ismael Lopez (Karra Elejalde , Bajo Ulloa's fetish actor) and his girlfriend (Lio) . During a botched burglary he kills a mother and hits her daughter who leaves mute and mentally disconnected from the world . Many years later , Leire (Ana Alvarez) is in a health home and with a mental age of a child and Ismael bears the obsession she might identify him, so he decides to abduct her . Ismael carries out the kidnapping and asks the mental institution for a ransom ; but them emerges a strange relationship between the girl and the heartless delinquent , and it becomes a tragic one , driving the final to an inevitable and upsetting tragedy .

This interesting but depressing film contains human drama , thrills , passion , emotion , tragical events , complemented with a colorful cinematography and sensitive musical score . These elements provide the setting for this piece of dramatic deeds , giving it its own special quality and ambient ; making a strong description of a drama inside a couple of tiny delinquents and a mentally weak girl . As in the picture there are machismo , jealousy , depression , death , illness , isolation, and madness . After two years of writing along with his brother Eduardo ; Alejandro Ulloa directed this his second long movie . This film along with ¨Butterfly wings¨ or ¨Alas de Mariposa¨ forms a splendid diptych in which stands out its darkness , gloomy environment and deep drama , both of them were shot in Vitoria ; however his third film ¨Airbag¨ disappointed some of his longtime buffs who preferred the obscurity of his first movies . Top-notch protagonist trio , Karra Elejalde , Ana Alvarez and Lio , all of them give fine acting . The storyline relies heavily on the continued relationship among them but it doesn't make boring , however the film sometimes is slow moving . Karra Elejalde as a relentless murderous is awesome . The young girl played by Ana Alvarez is marvelous with her sweet and enjoyable countenance , but also bears excessive gesticulation . Good support cast formed by a plethora of notorious Spanish actors such as Silvia Marso as a good girl , Elena Irureta as Director woman and Ramon Barea as Night Club Owner . Emotive as well as thrilling musical score by Bingen Mendizabal . In addition , a spotless pictorial cinematography by Javier Aguirresarobe and a willingness , almost perfect of the elements of each shot , every sequence , every space . Aguirresarobe subsequently would make a prestigious career in Hollywood such as ¨Fright night , ¨The twilight saga: eclipse¨, ¨The road¨ , ¨The others¨ and many others . Splendidly filmed on location in Vitoria , Pais Vasco , where the same director was born and lives .

Juanma Bajo Ulloa is a good but little prolific filmmaker and with "La Madre Muerta" won prizes in several Festivals like Venice and Montreal . In 1989 he filmed his first movie in 35 mm , "The kingdom of Victor" that won the Goya of the Spanish academy to the best short movie . His first long film was the successful ¨Butterfly wings¨ in which appears a brief cameo by Karra Elejalde as a neighbour , this movie achieved numerous national and international prizes . As it won 3 Goyas of the Spanish academy , such as best first movie , actress and original screenplay . In 1993, he realized his second picture , ¨La Madre Muerta¨ or ¨Dead mother¨ , considered to be his best by many of his aficionados . As it was released in the Festival of Cine of San Sebastian it won the first prize and subsequently won awards in many international festivals . In 1996, his third movie , "Airbag" , an action road-movie , became the biggest Spanish box-office hit of all time , being a real international success . However this success , he has been unable to make any other movie in the last 8 years . He attempted to adapt the Spanish comic hero "Capitán Trueno" but the producers turned him down , and being finally realized by Antonio Hernandez . Others projects couldn't be financed due to creative differences with producers. In 2004 he filmed in secret, and with his own money, his fourth movie, "Fragil", that will be released in 2005 but was a commercial flop .
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7/10
An excursion into off-beat noir thriller film-making
khatcher-221 September 2002
`La Madre Muerta' is perhaps one of these films of the last 15+ years or so which belongs more to the Basque and Catalonian elements of film-making as opposed to being Spanish in essence and style. Juanma Bajo Ulloa is one of the most active in this school. Inasfar that Spanish is used in all his films, not Euskera, whereas many Catalonian directors use their own language, Bajo Ulloa has a peculiar style veering between the bizarre and the maccabre for putting his stories on screen. This was evident from his hilarious `Airbag' (1997)(qv). His intellectual capacity and seething imagination fuse into behest collaboration, making sure that none of his cinematographic works can be considered easy or comfortable viewing. Indeed, elements of verbal and physical violence are hallmarks of his trade, at times, one may feel inclined to argue, unbeseemingly or simply unnecessarily, adding to the global perspective of the feeling that one is seeing something which is not facile fodder. In Karra Elejalde he has found his perfect accomplice: both were born and brought up in Vitoria (Gasteiz), political capital of the province of Euskadi (Basque Country).

`La Madre Muerta' is a curious analysis of crude situations and persons in harsh scenarios. If Elejalde is brilliant as the tortured warped mind, Ana Álvarez is magnificent as the silent inmate of an asylum whose mental processes are so evidently switched off. Her part is essentially non-speaking in the whole film. You should compare her in this film with her rôle in `Brujas' (1996)(qv) and `Las Amargas Lágrimas de Petra von Kant' (2001)(TV)(qv), and it should become evident that we are talking about an actress of a very high standard. Both are well supported by the Portuguese-born actress Lio, and Silvia Marsó carries out an important secondary part very correctly.

Whilst Ismael and his girl-friend Maite are holding Leire captive, chained to a bed most of the time, because Ismael fears she might recognise him as the murderer of her mother, some incredible scenes unfold. However it is useless to consider this story as one which goes from scene to scene in any sort of sequence, nor is the development of any scene necessarily in the usual form of doing anything; Leire stares at him expressionless as he plays the clown in an effort to make her smile, and then the creaking wicker chair weighs in on the scene, adding its ominous note of doom-like metaphysicalness; similarly the effect inside the ruins of a dripping church with creaking wooden floorboards and steps; similarly when Blanca hides from Ismael behind doors and furniture in her attempt to snatch Leire from there, the muscles of her sphincter break down, and the consequent pool spreads out under the snoring Ismael in the wicker chair …….. .

Weird; bizarre and maccabre. Accompanied by the incredible symphonic material by Bingen Mendizábal, at the very least a beautiful suite in itself without the film. Add to that the extraordinary photography by Javier Aguirresarrobe, and you can be sure of something a little out of the commonplace. Compare the photography in this film with `99.9' (qv)and `The Others' (qv) and you will understand what I mean when I say he does not simply film the scenes but forms an active part in the making of feelings and sensations – absolutely a genius.

`La Madre Muerta' is not a film for just watching a story: go elsewhere; it is a film for studying the playing out of the scenes, not only by the actors themselves but also by the scenarios, the music and the photography. The result at times may be gruesome or even thrilling in a horrorific sense, guaranteed not to be relaxing viewing.
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8/10
An unsettling yet captivating picture
velmadinkkkley7 November 2020
Man breaks into a painter's house. Whilst searching for anything valuable and looking at various photos and sculptures, he stumbles upon a painting that particularly strikes him - a mother and a child, separated through one decisive cut in the middle of the canvas. He gazes at the scenery, whilst the camera lingers on his eyes, when suddenly the painter makes her presence known. The man immediately shoots her. Leaving the crime scene, he encounters the painter's daughter, who gives him a challenging look as if she wants to avenge her mother. The man shoots once again, and the title sequence follows. La madre muerta.

Honestly, I wouldn't have even heard of this movie, had it been not for the fact that I randomly chose a 'European film' module at uni. I've always loved movies, however I never really had a chance to venture out into non-English films. Now I do have the opportunity, and we started with Spanish film. La madre muerta is violent. It's brutal. But also somewhat... moving? Ismael, played by Karra Elejalde, is a psychopath for sure, he kills whenever he pleases, and kidnaps the girl whom he shot at the very beginning, the only difference being she's now mute and mentally impaired. Their dysfunctional, disturbing and completely inappropriate relationship is what makes the movie truly interesting. The inner turmoil of both Ismael and Leire is visible, and both actors give everything they've got, Ana Alvarez especially. I really like how the plot subverts the expectations. You'd think that a character gets away or has enough of a plot armour to remain unseen, and yet Ulloa has no mercy for anyone. I should watch some more movies of Ulloa. This one is a great beginning.
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Twisted Spanish Art Noir Masterpiece!
doctorhumpp20 November 2002
Cold-blood rotten-to-the-core thief Ismael kills a woman during a burglary while her young daughter is watching. Years later he finds her as a beautiful but semi-catatonic teenager at the funny farm. He kidnaps her and intent to off but gets fascinated and obsessed with her much to Ismael's equally rotten and greedy jealous girlfriend's annoyance.

Director Juanma Bajo Ulloa (who was in his mid-20s when he made this, his 2nd feature) has created one of the most disturbing psychosexual Euro-thrillers in recent years. "Madre Muerta" is a dark visually stunning journey into sheer madness guided with wicked comic touches. More emotional involving than "Funny Games", more adult than Iglesia - a truly compelling cerebral and ghoulishly unpredictable masterpiece.
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9/10
Leire in the Underworld
nycritic1 September 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Every so often comes a movie that clearly belongs in one genre, but takes a left turn or two and plants the said genre on its head. The year prior to when this film came out was privy to one of the best psychosexual thrillers not only of the year, but the entire decade: THE CRYING GAME. The following year, an obscure movie that came out of the Basque region of Spain was released unto audiences. With a title as dubious but more explicit than Neil Jordan's classic movie, LA MADRE MUERTA (THE DEAD MOTHER) came out of nowhere and created a ruckus of the likes that hadn't been seen since Pedro Almodovar's masterpiece MUJERES AL BORDE DE UN ATAQUE DE NERVIOS (WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN). We, who saw it then, were floored by the way the story took some risky material and pushed the envelope to truly dark degrees.

Twelve years later, the story still holds: a man breaks into an antique gallery looking for something. A woman awakens, and before she can complete her sentence: "We have no money," she is shot dead. However, there is an added detail: a little girl -- the now dead mother's daughter (ergo the film's title). We see her only from her feet, approaching the dead mother's body. Then we cut to the burglar as he is about to make his escape. He suddenly wheels around, sees the girl holding what seems to be a baseball bat, her eyes angry and accusing. We see he is pointing his gun to her head. Certainly the audience will think, "Oh... he won't shoot, will he? She's just a little girl... what harm can she do to him?" Well... before anyone can think twice, the unmistakable sound of a gunshot bangs out, and we begin the movie proper.

Years later, Leire, the girl who received the fatal shot in the head that left her brain damaged, is now living in an asylum. With the intelligence of an infant, the Director of the mental ward and the young woman, Blanca (Silvia Marso), who take care of her, are discussing her fate. What neither of them know is that the gunman, Ismael, who shot Leire is lurking, and his path has crossed that of hers, now an adopted daughter of sorts to an elderly lady who is also deaf. Fearing she might recognize him, he decides to kidnap and kill her. Juanma Bajo Ulloa presents the adult Leire and her progressive stalking in a dreamy way -- it's as if one were watching a dreamy, Lynchian version of "Little Red Riding Hood". The way he films Ana Alvarez, the young actress who plays Leire, only from her hand as it caresses the hedges on the gate as only Ismael's predatory face looks on is a visual stroke. We know that once again, Leire is in grave danger.

However, there are moments of wicked humor sprinkled throughout, as when Blanca, who goes to rescue Leire, wets herself twice out of sheer terror (although the second time around, it looks darker...). Another of them involves Leire's kidnapping. Ismael has once again broken into Leire's home where she lives with the elderly lady who is mute. However, he does not know that. He is ready to stifle her with chloroform when she turns around; he makes a quick run to a corner where he himself smells the chloroform, falls to the floor, and breaks a jar of what looks like fudge on the floor. When he wakes up, the old lady is on the floor, staring at him. But she is dead. Dead from a fall caused by his own mishap.

From here on, Juanma Bajo Ulloa takes the story into really dark areas. In a move that would have audiences running for the door, he allows us to see Leire being chained to a bed as Ismael and his volatile girlfriend Maite (with whom he has a love-hate relationship) look on, wondering what to make of this. She is thinking of blackmail; he is about to carry out his plan of killing Leire. Leire... well, she can't think, and she is completely helpless, staring blankly out, unaware of the extreme predicament she's gotten into. And then something happens... Ismael cannot kill Leire. The excuse is that she picked up a piece of chocolate from the ground, but something else is at hand, something greater that hints at an attraction and hints at a need for forgiveness.

It's a shame this movie was never released in the States, for it is a fascinating study of the good within evil and has its own rules which it breaks much like PSYCHO did (in which a character that we're rooting for meets a bloody fate). Karra Elejalde is a major revelation as the psychotic killer who faced with the woman who he damaged undergoes a change of heart. Some of the scenes are expertly choreographed in which what we see is what a character may be seeing, but misunderstanding, or in that what looks like a minor contrivance -- like a light bulb falling to the floor -- will serve as a crucial plot device. Ulloa has created a major work of art with this often disturbing thriller, and except for the fact that it runs about ten minutes too long, it is a stunning foray into the heart of darkness and its need for retribution.
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7/10
Wow!
BandSAboutMovies27 September 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Ismael (Karra Elejalde, Timecrimes) breaks into the house of a fine art restorer of religious icons and shoots her dead and a second bullet makes her daughter mentally handicapped. It also leaves Leire (Ana Álvarez) traumatized to the point that she will forever be in an institution. Twenty years later, he's working in a bar and sees her. He's convinced that she's seen him, so he kidnaps her and demands a ransom. Yet they soon come together and build a strange relationship, even if he keeps threatening to throw her in the path of an oncoming train.

Directed by Juanma Bajo Ulloa, who wrote it with his brother Eduardo, this film finds Ismael going from wanting to murder Leire -- with the help of his lover Maite (Lio) -- before she turns him in. Yet he feels something for her. Is he her savior? Her father? Her lover? Can he be all of these things?

Can a man who casually murdered a mother and crippled a child become someone with empathy and even love? This movie asks that question while not being afraid to get dark and uncomfortable getting there.
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9/10
fantastic story
christopher-underwood8 October 2023
What a surprising and wonderful film made by Juanma Bajo Ulloa born in Vitoria, the small town in Northern Spain, in many of his films and especially this one. Most of his work is not seen out of Spain but he is known for Butterfly Wings (1991) and Airbag (1997) which I have not seen but both now I want to watch. The Dead Mother gets going right at the start and then carries us throughout even if we are not so happy but there are sad and poignant moments but often there are too many others we do not want to see. Ana Alvarez the actress was 24 and had a very difficult role, supposed to be about fifteen and as a mute with brain damage, but of course she is very pretty. Karra Elejalde is the man who killed the mother, the art restorer and almost the sad girl and he has much violence about him and learns that she is still alive and maybe she has to die. He has made several Spanish films but he made this film in 1993 he made another three big ones, Kika, The Red Squirrel and Mutant Action but still has many others. It is a fantastic story and so much chocolate and urine although there is not too much laughter especially from the young girl although is a laugh finally at the end.
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4/10
Heartless thriller with flashes of brilliance
Libretio26 January 2000
Warning: Spoilers
THE DEAD MOTHER (La Madre Muerta)

Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Panavision)

Sound format: Dolby Stereo

Despite its elegant camera-work and intricate visual trickery, Juanma Bajo Ulloa's LA MADRE MUERTA is a cold and melancholy work which tells the tale of a ruthless killer (Karra Elejalde) who is prone to bouts of dispassionate, unconscionable violence. The only sympathetic character in the film is a mentally handicapped mute (an extraordinarily evocative performance by Ana Alvarez), whose inability to react to the consequences of Elejande's violence places a visual and emotional barrier between the audience and the disturbing events on-screen. Though somewhat overlong, the film is nevertheless sustained by a driving music score and a wealth of brilliantly-realised scenes (such as Elejalde's stalking of an old woman in her kitchen, and the nail-biting attempt by a terrified nurse to rescue Alvarez from her captors). The tragicomic ending is a particularly nice touch.

(Spanish dialogue)
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