‘El Conde’ Review

Went into this mostly blind and not seeing anything from the director.

It's a slow but fairly easy premise to follow as we explore Augusto Pinochet Ugarte (An actual Chilean general and dictator) if he was a vampire and ready to move on with his life. A film that tackles themes of greed and of course same as always consequences of immortality. You don’t need any knowledge of the actual person as I managed to be sucked into a dark story. The second act is a little rough to get through as the pacing halts with the bookend segments carrying the film with reveals and a faster nature (setting everything up and concluding.) This does mean that my interest wandered occasionally as without the visuals or events happening, when it came to only being dialogue-focused (second act mainly) it was lifeless.

With this being stated it seems that the style of the film is the main focus for everyone. The cinematography is, without a doubt, the best I have seen so far this year. Although black and white is a common choice for films, this one manages to create shots that are truly remarkable. Unlike other films, this one was shot entirely in black and white, rather than being changed in post-production. Indie Wire delved into the cinematography further and revealed that a new camera was built specifically for this film. Edward Lachman and Pablo Larraín had a clear vision for the story and worked hard to bring it to life; the results are evident. My favourite aspect of this film.

It’s a shame the story never stood out to me as technical-wise, this was impressive to me. The score also stood out, it is one that is unnerving to listen to but at times songs were bliss. While the cinematography is sensational, it is the string-focused music that truly works in creating this dark tone throughout the film. The production is great too though mostly set in one location, it fully formed in creating a place you would most likely want to stay away from.

I will also mention the cast is fine. They never blew me away but I don’t expect every film to feature Oscar-worthy performances. As stated when the film became dialogue-heavy my interest dropped showing the cast just did not do well in gripping me but I believe it's possible script/pacing issues are the contributors to this. As I loved exploring every character, seeking what they desired and learning their backstories. It’s a fascinating set of characters that got me researching into them and let's not forget about the surprising reveal that had me immediately stunned.

Overall it's a film that may be deemed a rewatch for me as this is a flick that won screenplay at Venice, I got to be missing something…right? The score, cinematography and overall tone/style are certainly the major standout-outs and why it's certainly worth watching.

I have given this film 3 1/2 Stars out of 5.