THE SACRED SPIRIT (2021)

The Sacred Spirit (2021)
Directed by: Chema Garcia Ibarra
Written by: Chema Garcia Ibarra
Starring: Joanna Valverde, Llum Arqués, Nacho Fernández

Available from Arrow Video July 18th

To paraphrase the old legal maxim; ignorance is not an excuse. This central theme runs through The Sacred Spirit, as it explores the lives of a family facing the tragedy a missing child. Worse yet, some of them seem to embrace ignorance and would rather turn a blind eye to reality altogether. There’s a lot of talk about religion, con artists, and contacting the dead. But most of these ideas are distractions from the problems of real life. This isn’t a procedural, it’s more of an odd domestic drama. Which is an interesting angle from which to examine the subject matter. Can it still work when it throws out things like suspense, detective work, and even normal emotional responses to loss? It’s sold as a tragic-comedy but the story isn’t so easy to digest – not only because of certain parts of the story, but because of the way it’s constructed.

There are a lot of scams going on in the film, from UFO cults to endless commercials selling immortality. Everyone seems hypnotised by the power of these ideas, despite their ridiculous nature. But could this really be a science fiction story, or is it just a sad tale about real people and the darkness of real life? The way it’s told gives a lot away, even though there are attempts to make certain elements quirky and offbeat. The ‘Ufology Association’ operates out of an real estate office. Cheap drink-ware and gaudy posters depicting alien life in ancient Egypt are recurring images. And yet the tone is consistently dry and the pacing is glacial. It’s more awkward than playful, and as things progress it becomes evident that there isn’t going to be any likeable or eccentric core to all of this. Perhaps it’s all an attempt to chastise the viewer for wanting to enjoy a hideous crime – but maybe that’s reading too much into things.

Verónica (Llum Arqués) kicks all of this off by reading to her class about how religion was once believed to ward off evil cults. It’s an odd, but relevant, piece given that her twin sister Vanesa has been missing for several weeks. Her mother Charo (Joanna Valverde) has been trying to resolve this by talking to the media. Meanwhile her brother José (Nacho Fernández) seems more interested in spending time with his occult obsessed friends. He’s been given the title of ‘Cosmic Pharaoh’ by the UFO group, and his mother assures him that a spiritually important being is about to enter the world. Why should he worry about local crime or his family? His mother clearly has a neurological disorder, and the occult stuff is nonsensical, but this is more important to him than missing children.

Staring at electronic screens also fills up their lives. Despite the repeating images of all-seeing eyes, everyone has tunnel vision. Which is a very appropriate commentary on modern life. But when the film is so slow and meandering it’s hard to get invested. The main source of unease during the brief running time is that nobody acts like a human being. They’re all in a trance, not because of alien energy but because it’s easier to look the other way. Again this is a fascinating central idea, but without any semblance of an investigation or some simple mystery solving it’s never engaging. People constantly talk about criminals from Eastern Europe, but nobody searches for clues. Perhaps discarding those kinds of clichés is a fresh approach. But perhaps some of them would make it feel less static.

It doesn’t help that there’s little music or even camera movement until around the forty minute mark. Hand held shots and synthesized music are like a shot in the arm. There’s even a Spanish cover of Zombie by The Cranberries which is a very symbolic moment, but also a very refreshing needle drop after such a slow build. Things just kind of happen, one after another. Someone is killed in an accident, someone is revealed as the kidnapper, someone rushes to the police. But there are no shocks or surprises, despite the shocking nature of these events. Characterisation and pacing just aren’t a thing so it just sort of rambles along. Which is all very clever in a way, since again the viewer is being prodded. How often do we react to news reports? Then again it’s still not edge of your seat stuff in any conventional sense, which is a problem.

Of course this isn’t a conventional film. An old lady chains a step-ladder to a cemetery wall. One man dies, and another appears claiming to be his spirit in a new body. People stand in neon cages in the desert to commune with aliens. It’s very emotionally detached and scenes all go on for way too long, but it’s got an interesting texture. It would be easy to imagine this being a movie filled with bright primary coloured lights and electronic tunes. Instead it’s all just kind of mundane and grimy. The ensemble is full of losers and crooks who wish there was an astral plane, or that life on Earth was seeded by extra-terrestrials. José sits in a tacky chair covered in hieroglyphics while Verónica is doing who knows what behind a closed door. It’s often gross and never glamorous, which ultimately is the whole point.

It’s a strange experience to say the least, which in terms of world cinema isn’t exactly a revelation. There’s a lot of tell instead of show, and there are a lot of pacing problems. There’s a creeping desperation to the entire thing, which fits with the nature of an abduction waiting to be solved. Which in a way means this is all strangely realistic. You might wish it would get to the point, but there are no space deities waiting to fix our Earthly problems. There are strange goings on but it’s best described as the inverse of something like Hereditary. There are no big performances and no dramatic gut punches. Is the movie in itself kind of a trick? Perhaps that’s getting too meta, but the Blu-ray artwork is pretty dazzling. You want it because the cover promises idiosyncratic kookiness and cosmic thrills. But just remember; there are no Pyramids on Mars.

Rating:

Limited Edition Blu-Ray Product Features

• High Definition Blu-Ray (1080p) presentation
• Exclusive second disc containing a selection of award-winning short films by director Chema Garcia Ibarra
• Fully illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Shelagh Rowan-Legg, author of The Spanish Fantastic: Contemporary Filmmaking in Horror, Fantasy, and Sci-fi
• Fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Oink Creative
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Oink Creative

Disc 1 Feature & Extras

• High Definition Blu-Ray (1080p) presentation
• DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
• Optional English subtitles
• Beyond the Eye of Horus, a visual essay about the use of surveillance and Egyptology in The Sacred Spirit by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
• Pyramid Scheme, a visual essay examining conspiracy, class and capitalism in The Sacred Spirit by Josh Nelson
• Domestic Science Fiction, an interview with writer-director Chema Garcia Ibarra
• Behind the Scenes, four short featurettes shot during production
• Elche Vision, a series of six location reports about the making of the film, hosted by actress Lorena Iglesias in character as Esther Armengol, presenter of The Sacred Spirit’s fictional local TV show
• Promotional videos in which the characters of The Sacred Spirit talk about themselves
• Uncut TV Clips, background television broadcasts shot especially for the film and presented here in full
• Image gallery
• Theatrical trailer

Disc 2 Domestic Sci-fi: The Short Films Of Chema Garcia Ibarra (Limited Edition Exclusive)

• The Attack of the Robots from Nebula-5 (2008) 7 mins, Sundance Film Festival Award Winner
• Protoparticles (2013) 8 mins, Sundance Film Festival Award Winner
• Mystery (2013) 12 mins, Berlin International Film Festival Award Winner
• Uranes (2014) 59 mins
• The Disco Shines (2016) 12 mins, Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema Award Winner
• The Golden Legend (2019) 11 mins, Ann Arbor Film Festival Award Winner