Jackie Kennedy, Pablo Neruda, Lady Diana… Director Pablo Larraín has made biographies his specialty, always with a unique style as a guide that transforms each film into a sensory experience.
Titled El Conde in the original version of The Count, the filmmaker focuses on dictator Augusto Pinochet, president of the Republic of Chile between 1974 and 1990. In other ways, this project could be like any historical biopic. Here, Pablo Larran turns a government official into… a vampire.
General Pinochet has never before been the subject of a work of fiction, why now and why are we turning him into a fictional creature? First of all, 2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the coup d’état carried out by the general on September 11, 1973.
As for the vampire, it’s certainly a metaphor. For Pablo Laren, the only way to represent Pinochet was to literally turn him into a bloodthirsty monster.
“Pinochet died in complete freedom and with the most disgusting and absurd impunityThe director explains In the columns of the Hollywood Reporter. The same impunity somehow made him eternal. We still feel broken by his figure because he is not really dead in our culture.” In fact, the figure of the vampire was obvious.
Entirely black and white, The Count is a dark film that deals directly with German Expressionism. We are of course thinking of Carl Theodor Dreyer’s The Vampire, as well as Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau’s Nosferatu. However, surprisingly, The Count is also a humorous film that does not shy away from poking fun at the politician.
For this most absurd tone, the filmmaker reveals that he was inspired by two films by Stanley Kubrick, Doctor Strangelove and Barry Lyndon. He specifies: “One of the most brilliant things Stanley Kubrick does in Dr. Strangelove is to allow satire and farce to focus on these characters without creating empathy..”
Empathy, The Count does not contain its main character, whom the director portrays as a ghost who continues to haunt the spirit of his country.
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Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
