| Spain, 2022 | Suspense/Drama | Author Work | Trailer |
Mantícora (“Manticore”) is the newest work of Spanish cult filmmaker Carlos Vermut. My story with this man is verily something unusual to have happened -the first time I heard about him was in a local Comic Con almost a decade ago. Back then, he was promoting in a side scene the teaser of his first work Niña de Fuego or Magical Girl; the reason for this was that it had a mahou shoujo leitmotiv. And, obviously because of transitive properties, somebody thought it was a good idea to promote it in an event dedicated to cool Japan pop.
I do not know if somebody else paid attention to Vermut in that con, but I am definitely thankful to have stopped to look around his presentation back then.
Mantícora is his third work, and in which he has refined his particular style to an extent I did not expect, judging by the past two films. Vermut’s style of work is solid psychological drama filled with suspense, but with the addition of disturbing elements/motifs that are as fascinating as they are repulsing. Starting with the personal stories of anonymous subjects of urban Spanish society that seem to have nothing special in particular, the narrative likes then to submerge in their deepest desires or obsessions with the intention of showing the monsters that are hidden inside of us. It is impossible to stay calm during the watch of any of Vermut’s films, since it is very easily to perceive that there is something wrong in the air – even if we do not know what or how.
The name of this movie sublimates Vermut’s predilect theme. A manticore is a mythological beast with the face of a human, but a body of a ferocious tiger or lion and a tail ending in a cluster of venomous spikes. Very appropriate to indicate that behind a human facade something dangerous can be found. However, in spite of the menacing imagery this title might suggest, it is verily Vermut’s most delicate and soft work, which allows of a different treatment of the disturbing, repulsing elements.
While the last movies bluntly exposed the human horror and were certainly explicit in the climaxes and other shady topics treated, Mantícora prefers to stay subtle. The narration is more domestic, personal and young, as it wants to highlight the conventional life -work, entertainment, love and relationships- of somebody with predatorial tendencies. We never get the opportunity to witness anything predatorial though, since its purpose is to show, in a different way, the very real, palpable, almost average life of the main character. This produces a very specific sensation in the audience -a mixture of sympathy, judgement, repulse, mercy and baffle- who knows the horrible truth behind what they are seeing but do not know how to balance it with the external, more human feelings provoked by the narrative. This movie is soft, endearing, intimist and sympathetic as it is repulsing, horrific and fascinating. The manticore is not only a monster and stays as such, but has also human part and human reactions too.
I want to believe that Vermut has matured his style to a more ethereal direction, where he has found a spot where to polish his works with novel perceptual resources. In any case, be this the truth or only a transitory nesting for this movie only, this makes Mantícora a true delicacy to digest. Delicacies can still be indigestive too due to the horror in their ingredients, but the flavour is worth it. This man’s films are always wonders of narrative composition and detail crafting.
Also, this work still confirms Vermut’s geeky tendencies, since there are many of video game industry and cool Japan references within!