unbridled (jota linares, 2018)

An experiment. I have a list of films made in Spain ... more specifically, Andalusia, more specifically still, in Andalusian Spanish. Which I continue to work on ... as I've noted in the past, the half of me that is Spanish is (more specifically) Andalusian, and when we go to Spain, we go to Andalusia, and they have a distinct way of speaking the language, and I apparently picked up the accent if nothing else when I was growing up. So, Animales Sin Collar, or Unbridled, which takes place in and around Sevilla, and which features people speaking Andalusian. The idea is that I would watch it with subtitles, but the subtitles would be in Spanish, so I'd have to work to get what was happening.

It was admittedly tough going, and soon I decided on a different approach. The film takes place over four days, each marked with a title, so after Jueves, I paused and rewatched with English subtitles on. Then I watched Viernes with Spanish subtitles, and rewatched with English subtitles. I did this for all four segments.

It's an odd way to watch a movie, and I'm not sure I can properly evaluate it as a movie. It's a political thriller that takes its time disclosing what is the big secret everyone is worried about, so it's a little frustrating ... we're asked to care about people before we really know who they are. Jota Linares, in his feature debut, keeps things as clear as possible considering obfuscation is part of the narrative, and there is good acting across the board from people I didn't know before hand. Female lead Natalia de Molina and the primary antagonist, Ignatio Mateos, are Andalusian, so their accents are on target, which makes them perfect for my "experiment".