800 balas

The 12 year-old Carlos fools his rich corporate mom (who thinks he's on a skiing trip) and goes lookin' for his grandfather, an alcoholic stuntman who worked with Sergio Leone and Eastwood in the 60's. The grandfather and other boozehounds do daily Western shows for German and Japanese tourists, every nite they're out whoring and partying and they take Carlos with'em. Carlos's mom (Almodovar's regular Carmen Maura) hates her dad and wants to close down the shows in the Western town, but then the 'cowboys' band together and defend their lives and town, this time with REAL bullets instead of blanks. "800 Bullets" is a wildly entertaining 'light' comedy loaded with Iglesia's brand of anarchic humor. Since this film isn't that violent (compared to his other films) and if the sex and nudity was removed, "800 Bullets" could pass a feel-good-comedy-for-the-family! Joe Dante meets Fellini? It's not his best and its way too long at 121 mins, the silly and serious antics are an uneven mix, but "800 Bullets" is a must for fans of Iglesia. Most outrageous scene: 12 year-old Carlos' cheerful sexual debut with a hooker and her bouncing boobies!?! Only in Spain! I miss Iglesia-regular Santiago "Torrente" Segura though, he'd have been perfect as a scummy drunken cowboy.

I rented this one on a hunch, not having watched any of director De La Iglesia's work, even if I had heard of him - if not the film in question.

I thought this was going to be an out-and-out Spaghetti Western update, and it looks like it at first, but the way it developed makes it original and even more interesting than I had imagined! It's frequently uproarious and displays a refreshing irreverence, especially in its use of foul language (which I found even funnier because it's so similar to our own); astoundingly, there are also sex scenes witnessed by, and almost involving, a minor! Deliberately paced and overlong, it ultimately emerges as an endearing, even infectious, spoof of Spaghetti Western film-making and the world of stunt-men (which to me, having been in Hollywood a little while back, has a special relevance). Recurring jokes like forgetting the hanged man once the shooting's over, a stuntman dedicated to making his fall from a roof-top as realistic as possible, and the front of a poor woman's house being demolished by a runaway van are very funny, and there's a hilarious funeral finale with a surprising appearance by "Clint Eastwood" (who, as everyone knows, became a household word in Italian Westerns filmed in Spain)!

The cast is largely made up of unknowns (except for Carmen Maura) but they enter enthusiastically into the tongue-in-cheek spirit of things, with Sancho Gracia's characterization being especially vivid (at times, even a moving one). Indeed, among the various in-jokes which crop up throughout the film is the mention of the Raquel Welch/Burt Reynolds Western 100 RIFLES (1969), a film in which Gracia really appeared!

Alex De la Iglesia is an excellent Spanish director . He had much success such as "Accion Mutante" , " El Dia de la Bestia", "Perlita Durango" and ¨La Comunidad¨ , among others . Here deals with a homage to Spaghetti/Paella Western and other American Westerns shot in Spain . Julian Torralba/Sancho Gracia is an ex-movie stuntman living in Almeria . Julian and his colleagues once made a busy living in Spaghetti Westerns shot in Spain ; nowadays , they are reduced to do stunt-shows for small audiences on the decaying set built for those old Westerns . Here Sancho Gracia , who made several Westerns during the 60s and 70s , plays an old man who brings a village back to life , which the bad guys want to sell to speculators . Sancho Gracia , his friends and grandson must fight against the polices and baddies to obtain their purports . The final showdown between Sancho Gracia and Angel De Andrés López is overwhelming and exciting.

In the film there is comedy , tongue-in-cheek , humour , drama , noisy action , nudism , and results to be very entertaining . Filmmaker Alex De La Iglesia tries to pay tribute to Spaghetti Western , that's why he wished its main star , Clint Eastwood , to play himself as a cameo or special appearance , Alex even offered to move to Los Angeles to shot his part ; Clint , who was then working on the direction of ¨Blood work¨ (2002), was forced to turn down this sympathetic offer . Main cast is pretty good , such as Sancho Gracia , Carmen Maura and Angel Andrés López . Support cast is frankly enjoyable , including Alex De Iglesia's ordinary secondaries , such as : Manuel Tallafé , Eusebio Poncela , Enrique Martínez , Eduardo Gómez and the great Terele Pávez . Evocative production design shot on location in Desert of Tabernas , Almería , Andalucía , where during the sixties and early seventies lots of Spaghetti/Paella Westerns were filmed . Alex De La Iglesia's direction is rightly made , he called it as a ¨Western Marmitako¨ , it is a special food from Basque Country , where Alex was born . Besides , cinematography by Flavio Labiano is splendid and Roque Baños' musical score is breathtaking , though it imitates Ennio Morricone . Rating : 6.5/10 Good . Better than average . Well worth seeing .

800 Balas (800 Bullets) **** 1/2 by Alex de la Iglesia with Sancho Gracia, Angel de Andrés López, Carmen Maura, Eusebio Poncela and Luis Castro. OK, people. Here's the "Scream" of the Western genre. Only it is not set in America, but in the fake America in Spain where masterpieces as Lawrence of Arabia and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly were shot. And it is not set in the XIXth Century but in 2.002. And everything is fake, the mirage of times already past.

Alex de la Iglesia's career is truly awesome. His first short, "Mirindas Asesinas" (*****) was hailed by many critics as the BEST spanish short film EVER. Then Pedro Almodóvar himself financed de la Iglesia's film debut, "Acción Mutante" (*** 1/2), a science-fiction terrorist comedy that open new possibilities for spanish film industry. Then he changed his producer to "Belle Epoque" producer Andrés Vicente Gómez, who financed his later films: the legendary "Day of the Beast" (*****), "Perdita Durango" (*****) - the movie that de la Iglesia choose to make instead "Alien Resurrection" - "Muertos de Risa" (**** 1/2) and "La Comunidad" (**** 1/2). A truly awesome career, in my opinion. His trademark wild and surreal humor, grotesque violence and the social subtext of almost all of his movies makes him one of the most extraordinary and unique "auteurs" worldwide.

No wonder that besides "Talk to Her", the most anticipated film in Spain of 2002 was "800 Balas". Did he - once more - deliver the goods?

Yes. A big YES.

The plot: Carlos (Luis Castro) the nasty 11 years old - more or less - son of Laura (Carmen Maura) an executive of a construction company discovers - thanks to his dead father's mother (the great Terele Pávez) that his grandfather is alive and escapes from home to find him in Almería's Hollywood. The situation when he arrives is not good. The Western Hollywood stunt attraction is all that survives from the golden past that land saw in the 60's, the land where Clint Eastwood, David Lean and George C. Scott made great movies (spaghetti westerns, Lawrence of Arabia and Patton: yes, they were shot in Spain!). A land where the last important shooting was Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - and so it's kept a photograph of both Spielberg and Lucas at the entrance of the theme park.

Carlos' grandfather, Julián (Sancho Gracia) is the shadow of the man he once was. He plays his usual stunt unconvincingly along with his fellows, including Cheyenne (Angel de Andrés López) with whom he fights at the saloon entrance in a very bad western style. When Julián learns that Carlos is his grandson, guilt resurrects as he's partially to blame of his son's death when playing a stunt many years ago. But things can only get worse when Laura finally finds where is her son.

And I will stop here. I don't want to spoil the fun for you. And yes, I know that this is set for drama, not for comedy. How the situation develops is outstanding. Meet the people of the "theme park". Meet their families. Meet the muslim immigrants. Meet the whores. Meet the Guardia Civil. Meet the Police. Bring 800 bullets, and alcohol, and drugs, and The Pogues' "Fiesta". And you have another de la Iglesia's wild ride to the darkest spanish spirit.

Making sutile references to a lot of westerns and taking even a couple of shots from "Seven Samurai" - which we can admit is some kind of western - de la Iglesia's direction is bizarre, daring, grotesque, strong, and ultimately, unique. And the same can be said of the cast and their performances. Sancho Gracia and Angel de Andrés López are simply awesome in their roles. Some of you may remember Angel de Andrés López from Almodóvar's "What have I done to deserve this?" and "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" (althought his part in this one was very small, as a cop)... but both are two of the most underrated spanish actors. In exchange, Carmen Maura is one of the most known spanish actresses - and one of the best - and it may surprise many that her part is not the starring one... The whole supporting cast is great, and even the kid, Luis Castro, who has a very funny sex initiation sequence with a whore (R rating for sure in the USA!) is really funny (when the movie starts, he is playing alone disguised as an islamic terrorist!).

Add to this Roque Baños homage to classic western music at the score, a great cinematography and art direction, stunts, and a nostalgic feeling mixed with a riot and you have one of the best spanish movies of the year, althought some - lesser - pacing problems prevent me of giving the "Masterpiece" rating.

So, an advice: go rent "Day of the Beast" and "Perdita Durango" (Dance with the Devil). If you love or simply like these movies, you'll enjoy "800 Balas"... if you hate them, go check something else.

In Madrid, the boy Carlos (Luis Castro) never gets satisfactory answers about the life and death of his father and also about the work of his grandfather and former stuntman Julián (Sancho Gracia) from his executive mother Laura (Carmen Maura) and from his grandmother Rocío (Terele Pavez). While traveling on vacation to a ski station, Carlos escapes from the group of students and travels alone to Texas-Hollywood in Almeria, Spain, to know Julián, who works with his colleagues making shows in the decadent set of the old Western for small groups of tourists and telling his participations in movies like "Patton" and mostly as the stunt of Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's trilogy "Per un Pugno di Dollari", "Per Qualche Dollaro in Più" and "Il Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo". When the bitter Laura discovers that Carlos is visiting Julián, she decides to buy and destroy the studio using the place for a tourist resort. However, Julián buys eight hundred bullets to protect the village with his unemployed mates.

With "800 Balas", the cult director Álex de la Iglesia makes homage to those that made the desert film studios Texas-Hollywood in Almeria and to the end of the Spaghetti Western Era. The engaging dramatic comedy has great performances, well-developed characters and an unexpected tragic conclusion. I regret the absence of the cameo of the real Clint Eastwood, but Constantino Romero does a good job; and the corny change of decision of Laura in the end of the story, typically to give a commercial end to the great story. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "800 Balas" ("800 Bullets")