Viva la muerte
Directed byFernando Arrabal
Written byFernando Arrabal
Produced byHassen Daldoul
Jean Velter
StarringMahdi Chaouch
Anouk Ferjac
Núria Espert
CinematographyJean-Marc Ripert
Edited byLaurence Leininger
Production
companies
Isabelle Films
SATPEC
Distributed byAlliance Releasing Corporation
Release date
  • 12 May 1971 (1971-05-12)
CountriesFrance
Algeria
Morocco
Spain
Portugal
Philippines
Brazil
Italy
LanguagesFrench
Italian
Spanish
Portuguese
Arabic
Filipino
Tagalog
Cebuano
Berber

Viva la Muerte (English: Long Live Death) is a 1971 internationally-produced drama film shot in Algeria, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Brazil, Philippines, Morocco and Tunisia and directed by Fernando Arrabal.[1] The film was released on 12 May 1971 and Arrabal drew on his own childhood for inspiration for the movie.[2] Viva la Muerte takes place at the end of the Spanish Civil War, telling the story of Fando, a young boy whose father was turned in to authorities as a suspected communist by his Falange-sympathizing mother. It has gained cult popularity as a midnight movie. The opening credits sequence features drawings by acclaimed artist, actor and novelist Roland Topor.

Synopsis

When Fando's fascist-sympathizing mother turns his father into the authorities as a suspected communist, Fando (Mahdi Chaouch) is told that his father was executed. In truth the father is actually just imprisoned and Fando eventually begins to search for him, constantly imagining what his father might be up to or what might have happened to him.

Cast

  • Anouk Ferjac as La Tante
  • Núria Espert as La Mère
  • Mahdi Chaouch as Fando
  • Ivan Henriques as Le Père
  • Jazia Klibi as Thérèse
  • Suzanne Comte as La Grand-mère
  • Jean-Louis Chassigneux as Le Grand-père
  • Mohamed Bellasoued as Colonel
  • Víctor García as Fando - 20 ans

Reception

Allmovie gave Viva la Muerte four stars, remarking that the film's extreme visuals would make it "not for the faint of heart".[3] The New York Times gave the film a mostly positive review, stating that while it was "no perfect movie, it seems to me inescapably a major work."[4]

References

  1. ↑ Brown, Edward G (June 1984). "Arrabal's VIVA LA MUERTE! From Novel to Filmscript". Literature Film Quarterly. 12 (2): 136. Archived from the original on 2014-01-02. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  2. ↑ Crouse, Richard (2008). Son of the 100 Best Movies You've Never Seen. ECW Press. p. 277. ISBN 978-1550228403.
  3. ↑ "Viva la Muerte". Allmovie. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  4. ↑ Greenspun, Robert (October 26, 1971). "Viva La Muerte (1971) Screen: Arrabal's 'Viva la Muerte'". NYT. Retrieved 2 January 2014.


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