Proyección contextualizada de la película “DETOUR” (EDGAR G. ULMER, 1945)
EL DESVÍO (DETOUR, EDGAR G. ULMER, 1945)
Jueves, 12 de noviembre · 19:00–21:00 h
El desvío (Detour), dirigida por Edgar G. Ulmer en 1945, se distingue por su ambiente onírico profundamente inquietante. Producida como un filme de serie B, su reputación ha ido en aumento hasta convertirse en una película de culto. Rodada en tan solo unos días y con un presupuesto exiguo, Ulmer consigue reflejar un mundo turbio de la manera más estilizada posible. El dinamismo visual de la película, con planos que magnifican los objetos más banales, una iluminación dramática y una niebla que lo invade todo, convierte este angustioso periplo existencial en una experiencia única.
La película no cuenta con grandes estrellas, pero tanto la interpretación de Tom Neal como la actuación mordaz y cruda de Ann Savage en el papel de Vera son realmente estelares. Vera es uno de los personajes más despiadados y memorables de la historia del cine.
DETOUR, EDGAR G. ULMER, 1945
Detour, directed by Edgar G. Ulmer in 1945, is a deeply unsettling oneiric film. Often described as the quintessential low-budget film noir, its reputation has steadily grown making it a cult classic, and for good reason. Shot in just a few days, with minimal investment in production, Ulmer manages to create a highly stylized nightmare in the best tradition of the genre. The film’s visual dynamism, with surreally magnified objects, dramatic lighting, and overwhelming fog make this agonizing existential journey a truly unique experience.
While the film is devoid of big stars, both Tom Neal’s hapless and self-pitying portrayal of Al and Ann Savage’s acerbic and raw performance as Vera are superb. Vera not only makes every other femme fatale ofthe period look genteel by comparison; she is also one of cinema’s most ruthless characters.
Ulmer, who began his film career assisting F.W. Murnau, migrated to the United States from Germany, as did many of the outstanding directors of Hollywood’s classic era, such as Frtiz Lang, Billy Wilder, andOtto Preminger. While he never received the recognition bestowed on the latter, he made more than 100 films and was hailed as the “King of Bs”. Detour is Ulmer at his best, offering a doomed adventure that is both abstract and realist, sparse and twisted, rotten and tender. If, as suggested by Kent Jones, film noir is a corrective to Hollywood gloss, then Detour is its most punitive manifestation.
Proyección, presentación y Q&A: 19:00–21:00 h.
