Review of Blood Wedding (1981) by Tim H — 27 Nov 2007

Blood Wedding is my favorite of this set. Is it because it's the shortest? I hope not. What I will say about this movie is that it is the most straight forward and honest of the three movies. And Flixster can call it Bodas de sangre all it wants. I know this movie as Blood Wedding.

The format of the film is very simple. We meet the performers in the first ten minutes of the film as they prep for their dress rehearsal for this dance. Then we watch the dress rehearsal. That's it! I love that. No gimmicks. It's just the dance story that I want to see. Now, I have simplified this story, but understand that the dance is extremely complex and moving. The violent tale of the wedding is riveting and (although seen in other media throughout time) unique in many ways.

The one thing I will always contest is the slow motion fight sequence. Yes, it is impressive that dancers can physically manipulate their bodies to allow for such outrageous movements that the average person cannot achieve. That said, it looks slightly silly. Now, am I saying that we need the choreography of a Pirates of the Carribean swordfight? No. I'm just saying that a quick kill has emotional intensity to it that can rarely be reproduced in fake slow motion. That's all.

Bottom line: This movie is the most pure flamenco film out of the three. I was most interested in the dance and I got that in spades with Blood Wedding.