I'm sure Balaguero was trying to create a powerful allegory for God, motherhood and faith with his short film Alicia, but none of that is very important. What's important is, the impact 5 minutes of film can have on a person. The visuals are nothing short of spectacular (particularly the opening "hemorrhage", and "feeding" scene). I'm not sure how easy it will be to track down a copy of Alicia, but I recommend you try.
4 Reviews
Obscene or inspiring?
Horst_In_Translation10 August 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Probably both. "Alicia" is the first "real" filmmaking effort by writer and director Jaume Balagueró. He was in his mid-20s when he made this 7-minute black-and-white movie and you could easily see by the action in here that horror would be his career path that led to the "Rec" franchise many years later. "Alicia" is a fairly disturbing short film with its graphic takes on menstruation, breast-feeding, bloody violence and gore in general. Still, even if I am not the biggest fan of the horror genre, I did see an artistic touch here by the camera work and by Balagueró managing the really hard challenge of making all these obscenities look somewhat interesting or even stimulating. Thumbs up for this short film. I think it's a good watch, but certainly not one for the easily offended.
A Fantastic Short From One of the World's Greatest Directors
TonioTinto12 July 2005
"Alicia" was Jaume Balagueró's first short film. He later went on to direct masterpieces like "Darkness" (with an all-star international cast, including Academy Award winner Anna Paquin) or "Los sin nombre" (which won 15 international awards and starred Emma Vilarasau). Some critics already compare him to Andrei Tarkovsky.
This film, shot in black and white, is pretty much all about atmosphere. It has all it needs to be scary; it's dark, moody, pensive, aggressive and beautiful in a very obscure kind of way. Unfortunately, "Alicia" lacks a real plot, or a message. The surreal images, beautifully filmed and edited, are intriguing and are unforgettable, but it requires a lot of energy and time to perceive a real plot behind them.
A fantastic movie, only nine minutes long, enjoyable for everyone with a sense for dark and scary movies.
This film, shot in black and white, is pretty much all about atmosphere. It has all it needs to be scary; it's dark, moody, pensive, aggressive and beautiful in a very obscure kind of way. Unfortunately, "Alicia" lacks a real plot, or a message. The surreal images, beautifully filmed and edited, are intriguing and are unforgettable, but it requires a lot of energy and time to perceive a real plot behind them.
A fantastic movie, only nine minutes long, enjoyable for everyone with a sense for dark and scary movies.
Stillborn
tedg1 March 2005
This is purely personal, but I have a few wickets through which a film must pass for me to willingly splice it into my imagination. I'm only talking here about films that present themselves as art.
It has to be competent, which for me can translate into the degree to which it exploits cinema
It has to be readable in some way, even if only to indicate anarchy
The "reading" has to be something that makes the experience worthwhile. It can be insightful, self-commenting, revelatory or clever. Even merely honest will do if avid and clean.
The resulting fragment must fit one of the cosmologies I carry with me. Without that, no matter how charming the jewel, I cannot wear it. For example, if the tool is only useful for misogyny, it isn't wanted.
This little project has only the first two. "Begotten" at least has the first three.
Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.
It has to be competent, which for me can translate into the degree to which it exploits cinema
It has to be readable in some way, even if only to indicate anarchy
The "reading" has to be something that makes the experience worthwhile. It can be insightful, self-commenting, revelatory or clever. Even merely honest will do if avid and clean.
The resulting fragment must fit one of the cosmologies I carry with me. Without that, no matter how charming the jewel, I cannot wear it. For example, if the tool is only useful for misogyny, it isn't wanted.
This little project has only the first two. "Begotten" at least has the first three.
Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.
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