The province of Almería in Spain, became widely famous among film producers in the 60s and 70s, as it had the perfect natural settings for making movies. The Italian filmmakers were the first to discover the vast potential of Almería as a location, and the Western genre the one that suited the desert like a glove. Soon the Americans would arrive and the not only westerns, but also great epic films like "Patton" and "Lawrence of Arabia" took advantage of Almería's vast deserted landscape. "800 Balas" (800 bullets), is director Alex De la Iglesia's homage to Almería, and the legendary Spaghetti Westerns that were produced there, as well as the many people who found job in those classic movies. With his now trademark black humor to its fullest, De la Iglesia does for Westerns what he did for the Horror genre in "El Dia De la Bestia", and delivers another great underrate jewel in this the sixth film in his weird and brilliant career.
Carlos Torralba (Luis Castro) is a youngster to whom the growing up without a father figure has turned him into a spoiled troublemaker. One day Carlos discovers a photograph of her deceased father dressed as a cowboy, and soon he find out that his father worked as a stuntman in the desert of Almería along with his grandfather, but neither his mother Laura (Carmen Maura), nor his grandmother (Terele Pávez) are willing to speak more about that. So, fooling his mother, Carlos visits Almería, and discovers that his grandfather Julián (Sancho Gracia) is still alive and keeps working making stunt shows in the decaying set built for those old Westerns. As Julián is not really liked by Laura, she decides to use her business to ruin Julian's old western stunt show, but neither the former cowboy nor his gang of stuntman are willing to let that happen. An all they have to defend themselves are 800 bullets.
Written by the inseparable duo of Jorge Guerricaechevarría and director Álex De la Iglesia himself, "800 Balas" is a story that uses a simple and typical premise about a boy discovering his deceased father's past to create a multi layered story about honor, loyalty, and the fine line between reality and fiction, all spiced up by countless references to the Western genre (both American and Spaghetti) and a huge dose of black subversive humor. While not exactly a Western by itself, De la Iglesia plays with the genre defining it as the ultimate film genre and making cinema the perfect factory of dreams, as Julián and his gang of outsiders are people who never accepted that the dream they helped to create was over, in a loving tribute to Almería, its people, and its Westerns.
Certainly, "800 Balas" is more an action-packed character study than a straight forward Western, but De la Iglesia offers a deep knowledge of the Spaghetti Westerns that fans of the genre will find truly rewarding. With a stunning photography (by Flavio Martínez Labiano) that mimics Leone's classics, and a score (by Roque Baños) that gives more than one nod to Morricone; De la Iglesia captures Almería's essence and uses it as a setting for his tale of renegade cowboys making a final ride. Alex De la Iglesia has really improved a lot, but his freshness still can be seen in the way the camera flows across the scenes with a very fluid pace.
While it's true that Guerricaechevarría and De la Iglesia have done a great effort in this film, the movie literally belongs to Sancho Gracia and his outstanding performance as Julián. Gracia (himself a real Spaghetti Western actor) makes his character a complex and believable man that transcends a role that easily could had been a caricature of itself. Luis Castro serves as an excellent counterpart, and the young actor shows a great amount of talent for his age, in the role that serves as catalyst for the film's events. Once again Carmen Maura delivers an effective performance as the film's antagonist, and proves one more time why she is considered one of the best actress from Spain.
The rest of the cast are OK, although it's true that their characters at times tend to become exactly what they should not be: silly walking stereotypes. Still, this is more a flaw in the otherwise very good script than the actor's fault, and it's one of the two main problems "800 Balas" faces. The second problem is the fact that it's a bit too overlong, and while the film keeps a nice good pace for the most part, by the middle the film really drags a bit (with some scenes being either unnecessary or too long). Other than that the film is flawless, and a very recommended watch for every fan of the Spaghetti Western films of the 60s.
Despite it's obvious flaws, "800 Balas" is a remarkable homage to a long lost era, and another amazing work by one of Spain's most original filmmakers. This love letter to cinema is a must-see for Western fans, specially those who enjoyed watching Clint Eastwood walking through Almería, as the spirit of those legendary films seems to revive for a last ride through the desert. 8/10
Carlos Torralba (Luis Castro) is a youngster to whom the growing up without a father figure has turned him into a spoiled troublemaker. One day Carlos discovers a photograph of her deceased father dressed as a cowboy, and soon he find out that his father worked as a stuntman in the desert of Almería along with his grandfather, but neither his mother Laura (Carmen Maura), nor his grandmother (Terele Pávez) are willing to speak more about that. So, fooling his mother, Carlos visits Almería, and discovers that his grandfather Julián (Sancho Gracia) is still alive and keeps working making stunt shows in the decaying set built for those old Westerns. As Julián is not really liked by Laura, she decides to use her business to ruin Julian's old western stunt show, but neither the former cowboy nor his gang of stuntman are willing to let that happen. An all they have to defend themselves are 800 bullets.
Written by the inseparable duo of Jorge Guerricaechevarría and director Álex De la Iglesia himself, "800 Balas" is a story that uses a simple and typical premise about a boy discovering his deceased father's past to create a multi layered story about honor, loyalty, and the fine line between reality and fiction, all spiced up by countless references to the Western genre (both American and Spaghetti) and a huge dose of black subversive humor. While not exactly a Western by itself, De la Iglesia plays with the genre defining it as the ultimate film genre and making cinema the perfect factory of dreams, as Julián and his gang of outsiders are people who never accepted that the dream they helped to create was over, in a loving tribute to Almería, its people, and its Westerns.
Certainly, "800 Balas" is more an action-packed character study than a straight forward Western, but De la Iglesia offers a deep knowledge of the Spaghetti Westerns that fans of the genre will find truly rewarding. With a stunning photography (by Flavio Martínez Labiano) that mimics Leone's classics, and a score (by Roque Baños) that gives more than one nod to Morricone; De la Iglesia captures Almería's essence and uses it as a setting for his tale of renegade cowboys making a final ride. Alex De la Iglesia has really improved a lot, but his freshness still can be seen in the way the camera flows across the scenes with a very fluid pace.
While it's true that Guerricaechevarría and De la Iglesia have done a great effort in this film, the movie literally belongs to Sancho Gracia and his outstanding performance as Julián. Gracia (himself a real Spaghetti Western actor) makes his character a complex and believable man that transcends a role that easily could had been a caricature of itself. Luis Castro serves as an excellent counterpart, and the young actor shows a great amount of talent for his age, in the role that serves as catalyst for the film's events. Once again Carmen Maura delivers an effective performance as the film's antagonist, and proves one more time why she is considered one of the best actress from Spain.
The rest of the cast are OK, although it's true that their characters at times tend to become exactly what they should not be: silly walking stereotypes. Still, this is more a flaw in the otherwise very good script than the actor's fault, and it's one of the two main problems "800 Balas" faces. The second problem is the fact that it's a bit too overlong, and while the film keeps a nice good pace for the most part, by the middle the film really drags a bit (with some scenes being either unnecessary or too long). Other than that the film is flawless, and a very recommended watch for every fan of the Spaghetti Western films of the 60s.
Despite it's obvious flaws, "800 Balas" is a remarkable homage to a long lost era, and another amazing work by one of Spain's most original filmmakers. This love letter to cinema is a must-see for Western fans, specially those who enjoyed watching Clint Eastwood walking through Almería, as the spirit of those legendary films seems to revive for a last ride through the desert. 8/10