25th June 2008

Edinburgh Film Festival - La Sangre Iluminada (The Enlightened Blood)

Wow, what a weird one. A beautifully constructed, infuriating film, an itch I can't scratch.

The premise:

"Six characters narrate the strange life they share. Every so often, a rare mathematical phenomenon situates them before specific coordinates. At the center of this crossing, one life change to be continued in the body of another."

A soul hops from one body to the next, apparently sharing its memories and leaving them with its host. Each person has their own story and the soul takes part in that story for a short (?) while. As the film progresses the current host seeks out previous hosts. 'Host' isn't the right word, 'partner' I guess. 'Soulmate' if you can get over the cheesiness.

I have to admit that I didn't understand what was going on. Perhaps it would have helped if I'd properly read the premise. I might have not tried so hard to figure out what was going on while watching the film. Or maybe that improved the experience - I don't think I've puzzled so much over a film, looking for its meaning/message/mystery/mythology/question/answer. If I'd accepted the premise beforehand maybe I would have gotten bored - or maybe I'd have felt more for the people caught up in this soul's journey. And for the soul itself. The final partners were the soul and this big, craggy, sensitive mountain of a man, yearning for the love that the soul had experienced on its journey. The most enlightened/tormented of the collection and hence the endpoint?

Like I said, an itch I can't scratch.

In the post-screening Q&A the director freely admitted that this is a strange one. It is intended as such - with him, his crew and actors playing with cinematic techniques and language/idiom. It all sounded a bit wanky to begin with but the guy was sincere and, in his work, wanted us, the audience, to be immersed in this reality for a couple of hours.

Well, he succeeded with me.