Review: This is the story of Gim (Gimpera), a beautiful model hounded by her own looks and a feeling of impending doom, of Agent J.J (Marti), tasked with tracking down an elusive killer, and of The Professor (Ferrandis), a lecturer on the characteristics of victims. This is the story of how their lives will cross.
On the deserted streets of the city, Gim is constantly bothered by men wanting to take her home or save her. She rebuffs them all, only caring for the one man she cannot have. After a blind man foretells of her impending death, her already paranoiac world begins to spin out of control. There seems to be no where to turn as each person she trusts reveals a dark secret or hidden desire. Agent J.J. is desperately seeking Gim to prevent her murder, but can he believe the information he receives from his masked informant? And then there is The Professor who from his lectern, knows the victim, knows the killer, and knows more than he is letting on.
Fata/Morgana is a film which came out of a very interesting period of Spain's history. Having just come out from under the dictatorship of Franco, Spanish artists, writers, and film makers were making the most of their new freedoms. Director Vincente Aranda was a self taught director, and Fata/Morgana was his second feature film. In this film Aranda explores some major themes; victimization, the images of advertising, and even the clichés of thriller cinema. He explores each one in a way that will leave you thinking about them long after the film is done.
The strength of this film rests mostly on Gimpera and her portrayal of Gim. She plays the put upon beauty very well, and it's a character that could easily be mismanaged into an unsympathetic mess. The scenes where Gim is hit on by men on the street and even an armored car come off very amusing. When Gim ends up being followed by a gaggle of teenage boys like they were avatars of teenage lust, the movie provides some much needed wit in the midst of some heady topics. Antonio Ferrandis provides a great character as well in The Professor. As his character unfolds and we meet the sinister master of disguise behind the academic, the layers of complexity made me want to rewatch his performance again right away.
When you couple all these factors with a swinging jazz score by Antonio Perez Olea, who would work with Aranda again on his surreal genre picture "The Blood Spattered Bride", and taut cinematography by Aurelio Larraya, this film really comes together. There is so much more I would love to say about this picture, but you really need to see it for yourself. Part spy picture, part social commentary, part thriller, and all fun, this is a film that should grace the shelves of any Europhile out there. Widescreen, in Spanish, with English subtitles. Quality B+
Directed by: Vicente Aranda
Starring: Teresa Gimpera, Marianne Benet, Marcos Marti, and Antonio Ferrandis
