He has only directed six films, but Rodrigo Sorogoyen is already a living legend of Spanish cinema. The Madrid-born director began writing scripts for episodes of ‘Manolo y Benito Corporeision’, the impossible sequel to ‘Hands on Work’, and ended up being nominated for an Oscar for ‘Madre’: his filmography is as chaotic as it is interesting, as incredible as it is unsettling, as surprising and successful. ‘May God forgive us’, ‘The Kingdom’ or ‘Anti-riot’ have spoiled us to always expect the most from him. But there is good news: ‘As bestas’ confirms that the best of Sorogoyen is always yet to come.
French and Galician
If ‘Alcarràs’ or ‘Secaderos’ offer this year the friendliest side of the field, that childish and innocent vision that is threatened by modernity, ‘As bestas’ is its dark side: an oppressive film about contrasts, the blindness of misunderstandingthe dangers of exacerbated enmity, the rejection of dialogue in today’s society and the constant struggle between two very different ways of seeing life.
In ‘As bestas’, nature is not indicated as a place of play and provider of sustenance, but as a punishment, a burden that some are forced to carry for lifea place that gives death and poverty, which accentuates the contrast between the consciously mistaken view urbanites have of farming and ecology and the simplest idea of the villagers, often condemned to it by lack of opportunities.
It is not the first time that we have seen the natural beauty of Galicia become a threat (let us remember the stupendous ‘O que arde’), but perhaps in the one that is treated so cruelly and ruthlessly, a breeding ground for hate, the lack of reason and violence (physical and verbal) as the only way to face opposing positions. ‘As bestas’ may seem like a blurred and almost parodic portrait between “the country people” and “the city people”, but there is no classism in Sorogoyen: the misunderstanding, the quick attack and the lack of debate is represented in a town Galician, yes, but it is closer to the Congress of Deputies than to the rural landscape that surrounds the work.
Terror on the bench
The first sequence of the tape already encapsulates everything that is to come: the fear of speaking, discipline, blindly following a leader, no matter how clearly wrong he is in his speech. ‘As bestas’ is so clever that the drama is gradually turning into a horror movie, even using elements of the genre, almost without us noticing. That car stopped on the road, those random attacks, that handheld camera… Rodrigo Sorogoyen mixes drama, thriller and rural terror in equal parts and the result could not be more compensated: the cocktail is perfect. It may not have jumpscares, but it will give you goosebumps: this is, almost unintentionally, the best horror movie of the year.
‘As bestas’ is unfathomable, cannot be summarized without ruminating on it first. The film speaks of absurd racism, yes, but it is not the basis of the entire discourse: without an analysis of the frustration of those who feel trapped, the irrationality of those who know that their lives are in danger, police inaction, the eternal struggle between the rural and the urban, the lack of dialogue or violence as the only way to solve the impossible a complex, adult and magnificent film cannot be understood in every sense.
It is true that towards the end of the film, the film changes tone and takes away part of the accumulated tension, but works as a necessary sequel that brings a new point of view that offers the spectator’s perspective before what happens in that cursed town. Superbly, Sorogoyen answers any cynical question a seasoned audience at Honest Trailers might have: ‘As bestas’ makes the motivation of each character very clear at their vital momentand he does it without exposing himself unnecessarily, with an elegance only typical of film masters.
Record everything, for your dead
Just when we thought that nothing could surpass the subtlety and beauty of ‘Alcarràs’ or the humanist tragedy of ‘Cinco lobitos’, ‘As bestas’ comes with a bang: is the best Spanish film of the year, a film lesson which is outstanding in each of its departments, from Alejandro de Pablo’s spectacular photography to Olivier Arson’s meticulous soundtrack, with special emphasis on the performance of Luis Zahera, absolutely superb, spectacular, unique, magnificent.
All of this year’s awards should fairly go to him and his Xan, which in the hands of another actor he could pass for a one-dimensional character but to which Zahera manages to provide hundreds of small nuances, both bodily and vocal. Any scene in the bar, the inflections of him speaking, the bodily threats, the dry humor… Xan is terrifying and at the same time recognizablea fantastic character who has fallen to the perfect performer to bring him to life.
I’m not going to deceive you: I only have words of absolute flattery towards ‘As bestas’. The film has destroyed even the greatest of my expectations based on dominoes, rotten tomatoes, badly hidden video cameras, shared bottles of wine and poorly caught sheep by the legs. One more time, Sorogoyen’s rival to beat is again Sorogoyen himself, shining in the national cinematographic firmament and playing in its own league. A wonder that marks a new milestone in the history of recent Spanish cinema. A work of art. A story of rural violence.