Tardes de soledad
Bullfighting is as much admired as loathed by many. While some see a magical world in which male courage, elegant bravado and the bloody life-and-death struggle between man and animal prevail, others see a brutal, repulsive form of animal abuse, a macho relic from bygone and cruel times that urgently needs to be banished.
This documentary by Spanish director Albert Serra (La mort de Louis XIV, among others) proves both points of view right. And he does so using the Peruvian Andrés Roca Rey, one of the most successful bullfighters ever, who has cut off an unprecedented number of ears and tails in his career, proof that the matador has triumphed. Serra follows him up close in the arena, producing footage as hypnotic as it is brutal. One thing becomes abundantly clear: bullfighting is not a spectator sport for those who cannot stand blood and the violent killing of a living animal.
