Cinema
Arrebato
Iván Zulueta · 1980
Synopsis
Madrid. José Sirgado, a director of B-movie horror films and a heroin addict, is going through a crisis: the film he has just edited does not satisfy him, and he cannot break with Ana, who reappears at his place. He receives a package from Pedro, a friend's cousin, whom he has seen only twice, in a country house: a reel of Super 8, a cassette and a key. Listening to Pedro's voice, José relives their two meetings and discovers the young man's obsession, who films everything to capture the very essence of cinema.
Context
Shooting began in July 1979 on an estate in the province of Segovia, then in Madrid, with a budget that never sufficed, and Zulueta reused in the film images from his own Super 8 short films. Almost the whole film was dubbed; Pedro Almodóvar lends his voice to it, in falsetto and uncredited, for a female character. The author was himself dependent on the heroine before writing the film. Rejected by the Directors' Fortnight and by Berlin, it was released on 9 June 1980 at the Azul cinema in Madrid, the only one that agreed to show it. It belongs to the Movida movement.
Who it is for
A fantasy and experimental film with a non-linear narrative, made up of memories told on a cassette; it deals with both cinema and drugs.
Prizes and reception
Withdrawn from cinemas after thirteen days, it became a cult film through late-night screenings in 1981, and has remained one; it was rereleased in 2002.