The Red Squirrel sees Jota, an ex-pop star with a penchant for doing nothing very much, standing on a bridge contemplating suicide. He’s pulled back to reality by a dramatic motorcycle accident and goes to help the victim, an attractive young woman apparently physically unscathed but with severe amnesia. At the hospital he is assumed to be her boyfriend, and so the deception begins, as he invents everything from her name (Lisa) through to the details of their imaginary four-year relationship. Though based on a lie, it gradually becomes real but is Lisa really an amnesiac or is she deceiving the deceiver? Who is the mysterious Felix, leaving pleas on a late-night radio programme to his missing, mentally disturbed 25-year-old wife, Sofia? As an array of incidental characters get drawn in, each seems to be practising their own deceit.
This is a beautifully wrought, endlessly thought-provoking film, complemented by Alberto Iglesias's fabulous score. The two leads are superb: as Jota, Nancho Nova is both fey and hypnotic while Elisa (Emma Suárez) is wonderfully whimsical. Not surprisingly, it garnered a whole heap of awards, from Best Foreign Film at Cannes to Best Score at the Goya Awards. And the significance of the title? Red squirrels are, apparently, quick and cunning creatures; just like human beings.
On the DVD:The Red Squirrel is presented in Dolby Digital original Spanish soundtrack with option of English subtitles and anamorphic widescreen print. The usual stuff is on offer as special features, including trailers for other world cinema films, filmographies of the director and two leading characters, and a concise but considered analysis of the plot.--Harriet Smith
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
A mesmerising thriller with hints of magical realism Julio Medem is something of an underrated figure within the spectrum of world cinema. He regularly produces bold, imaginative and exciting films that shatter the usual preconceptions we might have of the limitations of cinematic language and storytelling in the visual sense, as well as presenting an incredibly intelligent and original approach to the ideas of production design, editing and cinematography. Despite this, however, he has yet to be fully acclaimed universally as a great filmmaker in the... more info
Quick Reviews! One year after Medem came to the spotlight with Vacas, he made The Red Squirrel, a deceptive film about love, sex, paranoia, mystery, violence, and existence. Complex, fascinating, and worthy of many viewings it is a film which marks Medem as a special talent, but which will probably confuse and annoy the average movie-goer with its interesting take on story-telling, heavy imagery and colourful symbolism. Jota is a young Spanish man, on the literal brink of suicide. A failed musician and lover who sees... more info
Cult classic This dark thriller is very much in the European school ¬ - if you like your suspense Hollywood style, slick and with lots of car chases, this is not the film for you. It is also quite definitely a grown-up movie, not in terms of its content which is surprisingly mild given its 18-rating, but in that it requires concentration: even by the third viewing you are picking up nuances, twists and meanings that passed you by earlier. Indeed, what looks at first sight like a naïve piece of sub-titled... more info
A good film, could've been a great film! The characters and events are all cleverly interwoven. It is great fun trying to work out how it all fits together. The film really makes you concentrate and keep thinking throughout. It definitely needs watching more than once to work it all out.
However, I think it is spoiled slightly at the end. It should've finished a couple of minutes before it did (for those who watch it - just as he sees Elisa/Sofia in the picture behind him). Instead, it goes on and explains everything and then has a 'nice' tidy... more info
![La ardilla roja (The Red Squirrel) [ English subtitles ]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41IgPZCKlFL._SL160_.jpg)
