Demented clowns falling for the same woman and ending up in a gory manhunt to win her over? Does that sound like a film you'd go watch? Well, to be honest it does sound original! So, I was tempted by the film "Balada triste de trompeta".
The whole film apparently draws on the left-fascist divide that haunted Spain all through the years 1936-1975 and was supposed to be an allegory on the fate of a state that woos two opposing forces and ends up torn in half and destroyed. There were moments of sharp criticism and humour (after all the heroes are clowns) and a bizarre storyline that at times seemed naive and tacky (like the sequence of the sad clown living in the forest), at others seemed to invoke allusions to influential films (like Bunuel or Wim Wenters in the cabaret scene).
I give Alex de la Iglesia the thumbs up for his brilliant lines on political thought ("why did you become a clown? because you love kids? Because of your family?..) and his irony for "terrorism" ( his clown asks terrorists after a bomb explosion what circus they are with) and for some of the most colourful shots that reminded me of the recent eastern cinematography. But, Christ, why so much blood and mutilation?
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