satire - Page 2 of 3

Viridiana (Spain)

Viridiana Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

Who said you couldn’t make fun of a dictatorship whilst living in under a dictatorship? Luis Bunuel proves us wrong by returning to Spain to deliberately make this film that satirizes Franco. Would anyone dare do this today?

Check out this sleepwalking scene for a mere taste of the controversy.

Why Watch Viridiana?

Get to know one of the dark side of one of the most famous directors of the 20th century: Luis Bunuel
To see a film that savagely pokes fun at Spain under Franco, dictator from 1939 until 1973 (the film was banned in Spain until his death in 1975)
For a ‘Last Supper’ scene which got it banned in the Vatican
If you like laughing at human nature and the absurdity of life

The Breakdown

We meet Viridiana in the courtyard of her convent talking with her mother superior. She is told to go visit her uncle before she takes her vows to become a nun. A strange request as she hardly knows him. In a Bunuel film, this can only mean trouble.

Sure enough after Viridiana arrives at her uncle’s house, she is fetishised by Bunuel (meaning she is made into the object of her uncle’s sexual fetish). Bunuel shows her taking off her stockings and nun frock in one scene and has the uncle’s maid spy on her through a key hole.

Bunuel makes it even weirder when the uncle asks Viridiana to wear his dead wife’s wedding dress (she died on her wedding night). Sure enough she looks just like her.

Bunuel’s depiction of the weird uncle is a satire of the aristocracy under Franco. He paints them as perverted and stuck in tradition (his house is full of old artifacts and looks like Mrs.Faversham’s from Dickens’ Great Expectations).

But Bunuel does not just satirize the aristocracy. Everyone is a victim in this film!

Conclusion

Bunuel has a pretty dark view of humanity. No one in this film gets away without being made fun of from the creepy old uncle to the group of beggars Viridiana takes care of. Even Viridiana is made fun of with her saintly actions.

One scene which perfectly depicts Bunuel’s world view is a scene in which Jorge (the uncle’s son) buys a dog that is being dragged along on a lead under a running horse cart. He buys the dog to free it. However, as he walks off with the dog, he does not see another cart drive past with another dog being dragged along under it.

I Am Not a Witch (Zambia) – Go Visit A Witch Camp

I Am Not a Witch Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

Do you know how to identify a witch? If you do, do you know how to keep them from flying away? I am not a Witch will provide you with all you need to know about witches in Zambia. Go watch this dark satire based on real life ‘witch camps’ in Africa.

Why Watch I Am Not a Witch?

See your first film from Zambia! (If you’ve already seen a Zambian film let me know what you saw – comment below)
Learn how to identify a witch and prevent them from flying away!
If you love satirical films – especially with a hint of magical realism
Because 9 year old Margaret Mulubwa is excellent in the star acting role

The Breakdown

Little ‘Shula’ is taken to the police for strangely staring at a local villager. As no one knows where she has come from, and because she is too shy to respond to speak, she is quickly denounced as a witch.

So what happens to the people denounced as witches? First, they’re taken to a special witch camp, which is pretty much an outdoor zoo where tourists can come and take pictures. To keep them there, each ‘witch’ has a ribbon attached to a tree attached to their back to stop them flying away. Life as a witch isn’t great!

Director Rungano Nyoni subtly satirises the whole film. There are moments when you think the police officer doesn’t believe in witchcraft before he convicts Shula. Nyoni walks a fine line between making the film too comedic and too serious. Ultimately she does it incredibly well and creates a film that communicates a serious matter without being too heavy or light.

Image result for i am not a witch

The Breakdown

I am not a Witch is original and clever. It’s a satirical film about real life witches in Zambia splashed with dashes of magical realism. The film is carried by the excellent performance of 9 year old Margaret Mulubwa. Go find and watch this film if you want to celebrate unique international film.

The Bloodettes – A Stylish, Sexy, Futuristic, Vampire Film from Cameroon

The Bloodettes Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Whilst the plot of The Bloodettes may be loose and confusing, it’s something new, sexy and stylish. Neon night club lighting, as well as masses of jump cuts, dissolve cuts, and slow motion shots (that would make John Woo proud), all backed by an energetic Tsotsi-esque soundtrack makes this one of the most original films I’ve seen from Africa. This is Cameroon in 2025.

From: Cameroon, Africa
Watch: Trailer, Kanopy
Next: The Killer, Tsotsi, Pumzi

Who Killed Captain Alex – A Classic Low Budget Action B Movie

Who Killed Captain Alex Film Difficulty Ranking: 1

Why Watch Who Killed Captain Alex?

It has all the ingredients for a great action movie
For it’s hilarious host
For the outrageous one-liners

From: Uganda, Africa
Watch: Free on YouTube
Next: Ong Bak, Kung Fu Hustle, Black Dynamite

The Restoration – Latin American Competition – SBIFF

The Restoration features Tato, a useless 50 year old cocaine addict that has moved back into his mothers home following his latest divorce. In a moment of misguided ingenuity he decides to sell his bedridden mother’s house (one of the last old houses in Lima) behind her back. To fool her, he recreates her bedroom in a shed in the desert.

In it’s best moments, The Restoration contains a tragic satire of the rapid modernisation of Lima. It’s self aware and able to play comedy off a dark(ish) subject matter with ease, much like Luis Estrada’s El Infierno (which manages to get away with poking fun at the narco-state of Mexico).

However, unfortunately this commentary becomes obscured as the movie chooses to focus on carrying out the ‘magic trick’ of switching Tato’s mum from her old bedroom into a makeshift one without her noticing. It turns the movie from a promising social satire into a relationship comedy of the dying mum and her useless cocaine-addicted son. After beginning the film with a brief commentary on the consequences of Lima’s modernization, the cheap laughs and attempted tugging on heart strings are the easy way to end the film.

Ultimately The Restoration is ends as a somewhat funny Latin film in the realm of the Eugenio Derbez film universe. There’s stereotyped characters, quick laughs, and melodramatic cheesiness. If that sounds like your thing, this film might just be for you.