Embrujada

This is the first Armando Bó/Isabel Sarli film I have watched. As all of them, it is an Argentine sexploitation in which her bombshell body appears naked several times (Sarli was the wife of the director... quite intriguing couple!) The innovation here is the presence of a monster, folklore creature El Pombero, who looks like a devil in the film and is sexually obsessed by her (and indeed possesses her in another way). Unfortunately it takes half of the film for him to appear. The story is confusing and the elements are not well connected, partially due a weird edition. Footage of a former Bó's film, "Índia" (do you guess who is the nude Indian?) Is included many times, but it is not obvious or explained that the Indian is the very same woman in the leading role of "Bewitched" (well, it is explained only after one hour!). She is married with a violent logger, who even whips an employee (?!!!), and is impotent. As she desires so much to have a baby, she looks for other men, making her husband have the most contradictory reactions (Armando Bó's alter ego, perhaps?!). Script is a chaos, as you can see... Acting is no better. Some actors are particularly embarassing. The film improves after the first half hour, but it never becomes good. The film is also somewhat racist: the Guaranís are told to bring the curse of her race, and she says that she wants a blond child with blue eyes. With another cut the film would probably become a better horror movie. Not a disaster, anyway.

I'll say this much, neither Armando Bó, Isabel Sarli, nor anyone else involved had any illusions about this being anything more than what it is. This leans heavily on Sarli's undeniable beauty, and her body, to shape every aspect of the picture; many scenes are just an excuse for nudity, and if they're not they only set up the next that is. The thin story, of a woman desperately dreaming of motherhood and willing to do anything in pursuit of that dream, is absolutely the prime mover; for as indisputably, deliberately schlocky as it is, no small amount of the writing would be plainly offensive if not for that bent. Only the fact that this is not also wildly over the top and nearly parodic stops it from being easily mistaken for a film of Russ Meyer. With all this having been said I don't think there was ever really a chance of this being described as a "good" movie, but there's something to be said for a picture that knows exactly what it is and gleefully, freely operates in the space it is given.

'Embrujada' sure is a thing.

"Sexploitation," indeed; this picture stops just shy of being outright softcore. In fairness, despite the seedy intent, repetition of shots, and dubious editing, it's not as if Bó was a slouch in term of his trade. Though the narrative is bent toward kitschy ends, it could easily serve as the foundation for an earnest horror drama, and there are splendid ideas here. In addition to Sarli, Bó trains his camera in countless instances on the gorgeous landscapes of Argentina to fill some time, and we must be thankful for the peeks at this beauty, as well. The costume design, hair, and makeup is lovely, and the filming locations generally. Though sometimes the editing raises a skeptical eyebrow, there are other instances where it's rather sharp, and the fundamental work of the cinematography is splendid. The nature of the title doesn't require Grade A acting skills, but for what it's worth I think the cast illustrate suitable skill that would surely flourish in a more honest production. Any effects look swell.

Yes, "good" might be a step too far as a descriptor, yet I think the only thing stopping this from being a hair above average is the unremitting exploitative slant. If 'Embrujada' spent a little less time accentuating Sarli's body and a little more developing the screenplay, that's all it would have taken for the feature to have made a small step up to another level. There are even some themes meekly expressed in passing that could have been latched upon in a more meaningful way. All told I definitely don't think this is bad, either; it just kind of sits in a liminal space, becoming an abject curiosity more than anything else. Nothing about this film specifically demands viewership, though if one is receptive to all the wide, weird possibilities that cinema has to offer and comes across it, it's a passably enjoyable way to spend eighty minutes. I didn't expect much when I sat to watch, and I didn't get much either, but I do think in the end it might even be a smidgen better than I assumed. One way or another, don't go out of your way for 'Embrujada,' but there are far worse ways to spend one's time.

I always enjoy watching obscure horror, but its a pursuit of many ups and downs. Embrujada definitely counts as a down, much as I wanted to appreciate it. For the most part it operates as melodrama spiked by minor horror elements, revving up the pace in the last 10 minutes or so but still failing to deliver much excitement. I would not be at all surprised if its plot were based on a fairy tale, its heroine obsessed with bearing a child to the point of madness and visited by the beastly spirit Pombero, with bad repercussions for those around her. Its a sad cautionary tale about the danger of pursuing what one can not have and the ills that come of breaching customs, rigidly traditional and pretty predictable. I don't necessarily mind this sort of story-telling, it speaks of tradition and confers a sense of place and time that can be of a good deal of interest to an outsider like me, but this one moves far too slowly (a bore at just under 80 minutes, could have been over in around 65 without much loss) and lacks much in the way of event. No gore (just some red smears) and little in the way of spookiness or violence, its a thin brew with little to offer horror lovers, fans of South American melodrama may find some small nostalgic spark but even this is kinda doubtful. On the plus side, our heroine is played by a ample breasted beauty by the name of Isabel Sarli who appears topless on several occasions, the locations are attractive and nicely shot (conveying a certain exotic atmosphere) and the actors generally do their best with the material, with Sarli imbuing her clichéd and slightly irritating character with some humanity and Victor Bo solid and roughly likable as her lover. The general commitment on display stops this one from being a complete dead loss and there are one or two jolts, as well as cool beast man make-up for the Pombero, but on the whole this isn't interesting or exciting enough to recommend and its lack of excitement makes the more questionable aspects (stereotyped roles, odd decisions, hint of racism) of the tale stick out the sorer. You could do a lot worse, but this is still skippable, only the most dedicated of obscurity enthusiasts need apply.