El secdleto de la tlompeta

Javier Fesser has a very particular, cartoonish directing style, and this short movie, which has gathered a bit of a cult status in Spain, is probably the maximum expression of his radical approach. The best way to describe would probably be to say it's like a surrealist painting brought to life. A collage of characters, places, sounds and smells which interwaeave and collide with each other in a seemingly chaotic dance, but are really timed which such a sense of rythm that the piece has the coherence of a symphony, albeit one based on the absurd. Even the most seasoned of cinemagoers can't help but be caught off guard on first viewing this unique film. Other efforts by Fesser, although still retaining his skewered style, cannot match the manic energy of this one. Memorable.

Pinedo works in a garage and is being chased by the law despite his quiet life. Father Lucas is a kind, generous man who has great skills in making friends, being kind and avoiding dog mess on the street. Their two stories become intertwined with a producer trying to keep costs down for a lousy short film, a man mistakenly turning up in fancy dress for a normal party, a young boy with an axe, a short sighted game keeper, a bored doorman, 30 or 40 helicopters and horses, running horses.

No. No, it doesn't actually make anymore sense when you watch it either but what it does do is race through the film with a great energy and an unrestrained sense of creativity and imagination mixed with a real flair for the funny. The plot is less important than this although it is actually interesting and it all hangs together in a sort of way that is quite hilarious at times while still not actually meaning anything. I could imagine that this energy without plot could annoy those who had other expectations but I find it hard to believe that the casual viewer would not be own over by the joy that is this little film.

For all the producer's comments the film is very polished and very professional. It mixes puppets with live action, hyper style with sweeping landscape shots, the reality of the plot with the reality of it just being a film. It is hard to describe but I could not imagine it being put together in a better way or being delivered in a more enjoyable package! The cast all buy into it and they all add to the fantastic feel of the film and the feeling of them all being real but also of another world – meanwhile the narrator speaks so fast that it is hard to even keep up with the subtitles.

Overall this was a wonderful find for me and alone justified the price I paid of the DVD short films collection I bought to get it! The direction is superb, the writing is energetic and hilarious even if it has very little in the way of traditional narrative and the film is a joy to watch as it rips its way across the screen in a total blaze of unrestrained energy and creativity.

When one is told that a movie has no argument, he thinks it's a movie he must not see. Well, this short has no argument and you must see it. It's only 18 minutes long, but you enjoy it much more than an average 2-hours-long movie.

When I first saw this film, people's laughs didn't allow to hear the dialogues. Anyway, there are very few dialogues to hear.

The most important elements of this movie are that it has rhythm, it's original and, it has lots of talent. I've never seen such a funny short movie and I recommend everybody to search and see it.

"El Secdleto..." is much more than a short film, it is simply the funniest and most incredible film I have ever seen in my entire life: Pure genius, pure entertainment, pure magic... Words like hilarious come to my mind if I had to define the film with one word. I tell you this is a bright and clever film, so amazing that will rock you from the very first minute. The only thing against it is that it is almost impossible to watch it, so if you have the opportunity DON'T MISS IT!!!

It's just 15 minutes long, but is the funniest short movie you can ever see. No argument, weird characters... all the ingredients for a bad movie make here an incredibly amusing film. Javer Fesser shows in his second work a style that is very close to WB's cartoons. If you can see it at a festival or something like it, don't miss it.