Subversive Elements
Dante no es únicamente severo
Joaquin Jordà/Jacinto Esteva Grewe, Spain, 1967, 78 min.
Joaquín
Jordà and Jacinto Esteva's debut feature, Dante no es únicamente
severo is a filmic delirium that falls somewhere between Pop Art and the
avant-garde. A major work of Spanish cinema and a touchstone of the Barcelona
School Movement, Dante no es unicamente severo, stands as the manifesto
film of sorts for the movement. In that regard, Dante no es unicamente
severo, primarily served as the statement of the necessity of democratizing
the film industry in its attempts to free the cinematic expression from
censorship under the Franco dictatorship. The film deals with the issue of
censorship by constantly manipulating the form especially in experimenting with
anti-narrative montages, obtuse language, inscrutable dialogue, and innuendo
often making it difficult for the board of censors to comprehend. The film's
lack of plot and non-linear narrative becomes an interesting reflection or
meditation on the inability of the cinema to tell a story. So simple and,
at the same time, so profoundly subversive.
Presented with the cooperation of Institut Ramon Llull and Filmoteca de Catalunya. Special thanks to Herb Shellenberger and Almudena Escobar Lopez.