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3 hr, 43 min
La Babosa del Paz is the daring masterpiece of Spanish director Luis Cazo. The film is emotional, disturbing, and relentlessly attacks the understructure of society. The 3 hour, 42 minute running time is admittedly a touch long, but Enrique Desfrutar's jarring dulcimer and bagpipe score will prevent anyone from nodding off.
Starlet Juanita Bartolillos, virtually unkown outside of the Basque performance-art circuit, brings her pouting histrionics en force to the role of Ana. A young tangerine vendor on the streets of Barcelona (brought to surreal life by Xüèxes Gídβ), Ana goes through a rainy day in a haze of introspection and disorientation. A series of black-and-white vignettes provide a window into her deepest subconscious thoughts.
Pepe Zanahoria plays the embittered yet grandfatherly heroin addict Guillermo, who has a tenuous relationship with Ana. Look for the famous scene where he kicks a miniature piano (symbolizing religion) wrapped in duct tape (symbolizing progress) down an alley (symbolizing justice). Guillermo speaks only in iambic pentameter, spouting cryptic riddles to the passerby.
Perrito--the autistic youngster who may not exist--is brought to life by child actor Samuel Almezan. Pedro screams for ten minutes straight in one unforgettable scene, certain to be a poignant moment for even the most jaded audiences.
The movie is interrupted in the middle by a seemingly irrelevant montage sequence. A weasel scuttles through a scale model of the Parthenon. A bundle of celery falls down a staircase in ultra slow motion. Only when it finishes does the audience realize that it truly was irrelevant.
The film took first place at the 1972 Filmes aux Pretensiones festival in Marseilles. It is not rated, but the scathing Freudian undertones and graphic scenes of emotional revelation may not be appropriate for young audiences. In Spanish with Norwegian and Aramaic subtitles. Two stars.
