Read + Write + Report
Home | Start a blog | About Orble | FAQ | Blogs | Writers | Paid | My Orble | Login
 
“A horror film’s job is to scare you, is to get your pulse going, is to make you scream and yell. It’s to make you be afraid. That’s its main purpose, and creeping you out. And that can be an enjoyable experience.” --- John Carpenter ::::::::::::: MY CRITERIA FOR DISCUSSION ENCOMPASSES THE HORROR GENRE AND BEYOND, SO I USE THE TERM "NIGHTMARE MOVIES". SPOILERS CAN OCCUR WITH OR WITHOUT WARNING. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Palabras Encadenadas (Killing Words)

August 8th 2008 01:10
Killing Words movie poster
“On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts” --- Thomas de Quincey

The Spanish are very good at their sex and death games. Just look at the bullfight. It’s all about carnality and mortality. It has a homoerotic undertone, and it’s man vs. animal, but it’s essentially phallic symbols and penetration, combined with the tease, the pursuit, and the submission.

Palabras Encadenadas (Killing Words, 2003) is a superbly constructed psychological thriller about a possible serial killer and his latest acquisition; abducted and potential victim number nineteen. He is a teacher of philosophy, aesthetics to be precise, and she is a psychiatrist. He is handsome, charming and elusive; she is beautiful, smart and vulnerable.
Killing Words Dario Grandinetti
Dario Grandinetti as Ramon
From a story by Jordi Galcerán, co-written by Laura Mañá and Fernando de Felipe and directed by Mañá Killing Words works and feels like a stage play adaptation; there are only two central characters, Ramón (Darío Grandinetti) and Laura (Goya Toledo), with two supporting roles; Commissioner Espinosa (Fernando Guillén) and Inspector Sánchez (Eric Bonicatto) 90% of the action takes play in two main locations, Ramón’s expansive studio-styled basement and the police interrogation room. However, the movie doesn’t feel cramped or deliberate like a theatrical production; the screenplay was written for the screen, and director Mañá is very cinematically-assured with her visual narrative.
Killing Words Goya Toledo
Goya Toledo as Laura
The performances are excellent, which is not surprising given that the director is an actor-turned filmmaker, which nearly always means the actors will have all the elements they need to deliver top notch performances. The emotional swing demanded by the characters is huge, and I’m not entirely sold by the dynamics of the screenplay, however, these kinds of twisty-turny plots nearly always make demands on the audience to suspend belief at the expense of poetic narrative license. And it is the poetry of murder which Killing Words is so enthusiastically enunciating.

Killing Words Fernando Guillen
Fernando Guillen as Commissioner Espinosa
Killing Words Eric Bonicatto
Eric Bonicatto as Inspector Sanchez
Word Chains is the game of the day: one player says a word and the other player has to come up with a word which starts with the previous word’s last syllable. Ramón and Laura play it several times during the course of the movie. But there is a sub-text to the game as well, an advance clue to the murder mystery which rears its ugly head from time to time. Killing Words is about lies and truth, half-truths and fabrications. Who is lying and when?

Killing Words Goya Toledo
The narrative structure of Killing Words cuts back and forth between Ramón and Laura and between Ramón and the detectives; the past and present. Another brilliantly engineered and executed psychological thriller of similar ilk and presence is Guiseppe Tornatore’s A Pure Formality (1994) starring Gerard Depardieu as the murder suspect and Roman Polanski as the interrogating inspector, an allegorical tale of deception and revelation, another two-hander, and another “theatrical” movie filmed with cinematic verve.

Killing Words Dario Grandinetti and Goya Toledo
Words can slice just like a knife
Killing Words has a fantastic look, a stark, yet vivid production design and crisp clean cinematography, and it’s briskly-paced too, which helps when the movie is dialogue-heavy. If you like to be intellectually-challenged and enjoy a puzzle Killing Words is the mind-game for you. Bring a little salt to the table though, it’s not entirely bulletproof, but it’ll deflect enough for the 87-minute duration.

Here's the trailer:


Killing Words DVD courtesy of Siren Visual, many thanks!

127
Vote

   
subscribe to this blog 


   

   

[ Link ]
Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews
Related Posts:

Comments
8 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Damo

August 8th 2008 01:38
That looks like a serious mind games film.

Even the promo confuses me.

Comment by Bryn

August 8th 2008 01:50


Horrorphile
Damo, yes, serious, mind and games are all there in spades.

Comment by David O'Connell

August 8th 2008 03:36


Screen Fanatic
I've seen this one, a while back on World Movies, and it is indeed a real gem. Very cleverly constructed and first-rate acting all round.

The Spanish are proving to be very adept at these sinister thriller and horror films.

Comment by Bryn

August 8th 2008 04:06


Horrorphile
David, yes very World Movies fodder. I've been a fan of Spanish cinema ever since first seeing Almodovar's Matador (his best in my opinion) at a film festival back in '87. Curiously, the female lead in Killing Words, Goya Toledo (what a name!) looked very similar to Almodovar regular Victoria Abril.

Comment by JohnDoe

August 8th 2008 04:52


Film & TV on DVD
I also caught this one on World Movies a few years back and was very impressed. i think I need to put it in my collection for multiple viewings.


Comment by David O'Connell

August 8th 2008 04:55


Screen Fanatic
Yeah mate - Victoria Abril................very, very fondly remembered by us all isn't she? The one name in Spanish cinema guaranteed to bring the voyeur in us all to full red alert! Haha! (;

Comment by Cibbuano

August 11th 2008 03:09


Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
looks interesting... one from the Siren collection, eh? I love it when you don't know who's telling the truth in the movies!


Comment by Bryn

August 11th 2008 03:17


Horrorphile
Cibby, I reckon you'd dig this one ...

Add A Comment

To create a fully formatted comment please click here.


CLICK HERE TO LOGIN | CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Name or Orble Tag
Home Page (optional)
Comments
Bold Italic Underline Strikethrough Separator Left Center Right Separator Quote Insert Link Insert Email
Notify me of replies
Notify extra people about this comment
Is this a private comment?
List the Email Addresses or Orble Tags of the people you would like to be notified about this comment


One per line max of 30

List the Email Addresses or Orble Tags of the people you would like to be notified about this private comment thread. Only the people in this list will be able to see or reply to your comment.


One per line max of 30

Your Name
(for the email going out to the above list, it can be different to your Orble Tag)
Your Email Address
(optional)
(required for reply notification)
Submit
More Posts
July 2010
18 Posts
June 2010
22 Posts
May 2010
14 Posts
Older Posts
791 Posts dating from August 2006
Email Subscription
Receive e-mail notifications of new posts on this blog:
0
[ View Blog Summary ] [ Create A New Post ] [ Add A Comment ]
Moderated by Bryn
Copyright © 2006 2007 2008 On Topic Media PTY LTD. All Rights Reserved. Design by Vimu.com.
On Topic Media ZPages: Sydney |  Melbourne |  Brisbane |  London |  Birmingham |  Leeds     [ Advertise ] [ Contact Us ] [ Privacy Policy ]