Rabia ostensibly tells the story of the unpleasant Latin American immigrant experience in Spain. Filmed mostly in a baroque Spanish mansion (one of the best things about the movie), Rabia tells the story of José María (Gustavo Sánchez Parra) and Rosa (Martina García), South American immigrants working hard to make better lives for themselves in Spain.
Things go terribly wrong for the short-tempered José María when he accidentally kills a man and - on the run from the law and unbeknownst to Rosa - he takes up residence in her attic. This can't end well. And it doesn't. For him or for the film which begins to feel like a thin horror film as the half-crazed man lives out his days in hiding.
Rabia Aims to Tell of the Plight of Latin American Immigrants in Spain
But first things first. The film begins shortly after the two meet, and everything is mostly sweetness and light, though there are hints that something isn't right. José María's violent character is quickly sketched in when in an early scene, he goes out of his way to beat the stuffing out of two local men who catcall after Rosa her on her way to work.
Things get very ugly, very quickly when José María actually kills his boss - albeit accidentally - for making sexual remarks about the beautiful Rosa. On the lam, José Maria somehow skulks into the attic of the beautiful mansion where Rosa lives in small servant's quarters. Go figure how he managed to get past the metal gates and into the locked house that the owners couldn't penetrate without keys. He survives by stealing food, sneaking into wash when owners are out, shooing away rats etc... Gustavo Sánchez Parra isn't given much to work with in the one-dimensional character as he grows ever thinner, sicker, crazier with little to do beyond gaze at Rosa with crazed longing and rage.
Underdeveloped Roles for Stars Gustavo Sánchez Parra and Martina García
It is through José María's eyes that most of the rest of the film is told. The audience sees how Rosa is mistreated - ignored by her boss, assaulted by his son, patronized by the alcoholic lady of the house. It's easy to sympathize with Rosa - she is so clearly victimized - though beyond that, the characters are shallow and it's hard to give a hoot about any of them.
José María seems little more than a violent and hot-headed thug. Sympathizing with Rosa is a no-brainer, but her blind loyalty to José María (who she admits she hardly knows) is far flung. As a social commentary about the woes of immigration, the film doesn't even try. Apart from a few lines flung at José María suggesting he's a lazy immigrant, the two could be victims for any reason at all -- the main reason seems to be their poverty.
The film is a little too proud of its wild, roller-coaster style tracking shots running from room to room in the glorious old home. Offered up with little context, the zooming camera only adds to the confusion in a film that has already gone quite off the rails.
- Rabia
- Director Sebastián Cordero
- Starring Gustavo Sanchez Parra, Martina Garcia
- Runtime: 89 minuteso
 |
