When convicted thief Ramon (voiced by Carlos Blanco) breaks out of jail, he stumbles across a mysterious village hidden deep within the mountains of Spain.
He is taken in by the overly friendly locals, but all is not what it seems. Behind their false smiles the townsfolk hide a terrible secret, and before long Ramon is swept into a nightmare filled with ghouls, ghosts and ancient curses which will force him to confront his fears and fight for his own salvation.
Directed by Fernando Cortizo, The Apostle is a dark exploration of the afterlife cleverly crafted using a mixture of stop-motion, 3D animation and motion-capture techniques. Cortizo uses a decrepit village setting complete with dead, mangled trees and dark, eerie lighting to create a gothic undertone which flows throughout the film. This is beautifully complemented by the ominous, at times haunting, soundtrack.
Ramon is brought to life in stunning detail, and his weary, character-lined face and stubbled chin give him the appearance of a man who has lived a hard life. His eyes seem to shine with a combination of fierce determination and unbridled fear; it is amazing how expressive and impossibly human this clay character seems.
In contrast, the townspeople (the film’s antagonists) are horribly disfigured with exaggerated facial features and a whole host of weird behavioural issues which render most of them just plain creepy. Their appearance reflects the ugliness of their secret and serves as a physical representation of the evil which flows through their town, destroying everything and everyone caught in its path. The town itself, with its ancient graveyard and crumbling buildings, screams danger.
The film is presented in Spanish with English subtitles and there were obviously some hiccups in the translation, with quite a few words misspelled and sentences incorrectly formed – a nightmare in its own for those with a high regard for grammar. At times, the subtitles also seemed to move a little too fast, creating a risk that important details might be missed.
Despite these issues, The Apostle is a visually stunning treat for movie goers and a unique addition to this year’s Adelaide Film Festival.
The Apostle screens again during the Adelaide Film Festival on Friday, October 18, at Palace Nova Cinema.
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