Since their parents have decided to go on a vacation over Christmas and
New Year, 18 year olds María José (Isana Medel) and Pili (Terele Pávez)
decide to go on a road trip through the South of Spain - an enterprise
that seems to be doomed from day one, when they buy a car (that's been on
the market for at least 50 years) and "equipment" (including a
parrot that's actually an owl) from a friend that all proves to be more a
burden than a blessing. Their journey turns out to be a wild ride on which
they meet many weird characters like a car-thief, a serialkiller with a
castle right out of a horror film, and a bankrobber hell-bent to cross
over the border (he's ultimately shot attempting to do so). However,
during the film it turns out that not everything is true even in the
context of the movie, as the girls write down their adventures and bend
and tweak them to their liking - so some of the story is wishful thinking
and weird fantasy of two not-quite grown up girls. And in the end they are
seen just burning their notes ... A light-footed teen comedy
that hits a few darker notes and that's mainly interesting for being an
early film by later cult director Jess Franco. Taken by its own merits,
the movie might be of some interest because of its narrative concept that
deliberately mixes reality and fantasy, but nevertheless seems to be
leading nowhere in particular (narratively), with the concept being little
more than a touch of bright light - in other words, it does improve the
film as such, but doesn't make it a masterpiece. Seen within Jess
Franco's body of work, the film foreshadows some of his later themes, like
the female couple on the run, the spots of gothic horror, the occasional
pulp reference, and the surreal bits every now and again. At the same time
though, the movie is neither as other-worldly as some of his later
masterpieces (not even close), nor does Franco show the same passion for
voyeurism and the like as in his later, sleazier stuff. This all doesn't
make it a bad film, it's certainly worth a look or two for both Jess
Franco-fans and afficionados of teen comedies from the 1950's - in either
category though it's certainly not the most memorable film ...
|