Espíritu sagrado
Year:
2021
Running time:
97 mn
Nationality:
Spain
Language:
Spanish
Genre:
Comedy. Sci-Fi. Mystery. Drama
Director:
Chema García Ibarra
Producer:
Apellaniz & De Sosa, Jaibo Films, La Fabrica Nocturna Cinéma, Teferruat Film
Screenwriter/s:
Chema García Ibarra
Cast:
Nacho Fernández, Llum Arques, Joanna Valverde, Rocío Ibáñez, David Terol, José Ángel Asensio
Summary of the film
José Manuel and the other members of the ufology association Ovni-Levante meet weekly to exchange information about alien messages and abductions. Julio, their leader, dies unexpectedly, leaving José Manuel as the only person who knows about a secret that could alter the future of humanity. Meanwhile, in Spain, there is a search going on for a young girl who disappeared some weeks before. (Filmaffinity)
Scene of a bar with decorations of the Pyramids of Giza (Screenshot by the author)
Espíritu Sagrado, promocional poster
Egyptomania narratives or motifs
Chema García Ibarra’s feature film directorial debut incorporates egyptology-themed motifs at the level of both story and mise en scène. The movie combines a quasi-documentary approach to García Ibarra’s home town of Elche, in south-eastern Spain, with an offbeat plot about a small society of ufology devotees. Among the members of this society, the interest in ancient Egypt is straightforwardly associated with the idea of a heretic, “alternative Egypt” in which historical experience primarily serves to convey a sense of cosmic revelation. This unorthodox fascination is staged in the film with an abundance of egyptianising props and decor (including a bouncy castle in the form of a sphinx!). As a result of this emphasis on commodities, and the supposedly hidden lore they contain, the movie develops a commentary on the consumable aspect of contemporary delusions and the paranormal. And it partly does so by drawing on a distinctive aesthetics of Egyptian kitsch.
Author: Samuel Fernández-Pichel
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