Amadeo (Alex Brendemuhl) has just been crowned King of Spain. His reign is going to be extremely short-lived and he’s destined to spend practically every moment trapped within the walls of his castle, dictated to by Ministers who definitely don’t have his political welfare on their minds. Amadeo cuts a handsome if melancholic figure and the only two people he seems able to trust are his loyal manservant Alfredo (Lorenzo Balducci) who has a disturbingly coital relationship with a watermelon, and his cook Eloisa (Lola Duenas), who briefly becomes his lover. When Amadeo’s wife (Barbara Lennie) arrives from Italy, there seems a vague hope that Amadeo’s circumstances will begin to change, but the peasants are revolting and matters are – quite literally – primed to explode.
Lluis Minarro is a legendary film producer in his native Spain, and this is his first feature as director (he also co-wrote the screenplay). It’s a fantastic achievement, and one of the most surreal, joyous, blackly comic and beautiful to look at historical biopics you’re ever likely to see. Yes, it has a slow moving arthouse tone and there’s a lot of contemplative silence between the words, but it’s such a gorgeously idiosyncratic piece of cinema that even the silences are captivating. Minarro and his cinematographer Jimmy Gimferrer are visual magicians, with each shot composed and lit like a painting, indulging in the rich chiaroscuro of the costumes and set design, taking full advantage of the ever-present Spanish sunlight. But one of the most delightful elements of Stella Cadente lies in Minarro’s genius use of music, especially during a wonderful interlude in the second Act which is guaranteed to put a smile on even the most jaded viewer’s face (you’ll know it when you see it). It’s this kind of savvy but expertly timed irreverence that makes the film such a magnificently unexpected surprise and will make you wish you’d had the opportunity to watch it on a big screen. Highly recommended – this has to be a very late contender for one of the most enjoyable DVD releases of 2016.
STELLA CADENTE / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: LLUÍS MIÑARRO / SCREENPLAY: LLUÍS MIÑARRO, SERGE BELBEL / STARRING: ALEX BRENDEMÜHL, BÁRBARA LENNIE, LORENZO BALDUCCI / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
