Espíritu sagrado

Julio is dead . It's terrible news for OVNI Levante, the association of ufology enthusiasts that he ran. The death hits one its members, José Manuel, particularly hard. All of them share their passion about the paranormal, specially about UFOs. In these years where was very much UFOs' sightings, they feel captivated by the mystery and start to investigate the diverse theories about the intentions or purposes of the sightings. Their friendship and the obsession they have will turn in dementia and paranoia, hurting their relations with their respective friends and familiars and exposing their lives to an extreme decision due to the conclusion of their own investigations. But Julio has a secret project to change human destiny. Now he must carry on alone.

A Cine "anti mainstream" in which director Chema García Ibarra continues in his stylistic line, where the paranormal is mixed with amateurism and off-the-wall happenings , placing Sacred Spirit in Elche. In the first place, it must be said that it is not a typical film, by this I mean that the director wanted to capture a story of how rogue and contemptible people can be seen from the perspective of human daily life. Thus, filmmaker manages to create a portrait of the idiosyncrasies of small cities, leading the viewer to the mysticism of the perpetual tranquility of the place, combining with spiritualist concepts. At first, the viewer may be surprised by what he is seeing on the screen. However, to understand the film in its entirety, one cannot judge by the opening scenes. Once seen in its entirety, the narrative journey that García Ibarra makes on the big screen is valued very positively. In addition, the difficulty of not being a commercial story is added, but rather it needs to be seen as a whole to verify the insight with which each element is gradually cooked.

She obviously highlights the spiritual aspect, with beliefs that go beyond the conventional, but it is not something new for the viewer. It's actually perhaps more derived from the UMMO case, which was mostly in Spain. Basically people got mysterious notes and such purporting to be from aliens, along with technical info on UFOs and some supposedly advanced technological devices. Furthermore, talking about sects is something that has been done previously, but García Ibarra innovates when doing it in a place like Elche, sharing the symbology of the neighborhoods at all times. Likewise, she makes use of the loss and disappearance of Vanesa, one of Charo's daughters. That mystery surrounding her absence becomes frank and spontaneous that takes away from the drama, but which, at the end of the film, becomes the biggest scourge for the viewer. For these reasons, a fascination is sublimated when seeing the metamorphosis that exists in the film. Thanks to this, it goes from being a possible Z movie to a feature film that starts from a more abstract terrain to culminate with the harshest truth.

More and more feature films break the assiduity of shooting in Madrid or Barcelona, which is valued to give greater richness to the different potential locations in Spain. Chema García Ibarra chooses that Elche absent from bombastic decorations, or impressive locations on an aesthetic level. Therefore, favorably, it takes over a very defined aesthetic, where bizarre factors stand out, but always within a coherence more around the neighborhood. That is where the realization works its magic, with an art direction that maintains the purest realism: homes, bars and shops... that one could perfectly find on the streets. It is also appreciated that there has not been a careful preparation to the millimeter, that essence of amateurism is what gives it its own identity stamp.

What's weird about this movie is not how weird it is.

What's weird is that the weirdness is wasted at the end.

I really liked and enjoyed the atmosphere, I thought I was getting a lot of hidden messages, a lot of signs that would make sense in the end, when the revelation comes, but nope!

The end comes with a "twist" if you can call it that, which, even if you like it or not, it feels like all the build up has been wasted.

The backgrounds are loaded with detail which seems to hold meaning, the robotic attitudes of the inhabitants of the town seems to have something to do with what's going on..

I totally get what's the message at the end, I just think that (even if it's an important one) the movie could have done something bigger and crazier.

It's a bit of a disappointment, almost an anticlimactic ending, after so much tense atmosphere built up, and being what the ending is, some things don't make sense.

Also, there are way too many long scenes of static angles where nothing happens. Also seemingly to create some sort of tension, which in the end is gone on something completely unrelated.

The characters are bizarre, the kind that makes them interesting, humorous too, if you're familiar with Spanish accents and culture.

Cinematography is sometimes inspired, sometimes amateurish.

It's a mixed bag for me, I can't say it's bad, but I would be unsure to recommend it.

Probably better if you're a Spanish speaker and know Spanish culture, and like bizarre, creepy looking characters, this could be something you'd enjoy.

More and more creators begin to indulge in combining religion, growth and science fiction elements. Among the works seen recently, this one is the best and most charming.

This is about a member of a UFO hobbyist group whose niece has mysteriously vanished (which the movie is actually about). It's very slow, with long, lingering shots and goes for a very realistic feel with normal looking actors.

In some ways it feels like a David Lynch movie, but the people are very ordinary. They aren't quirky. Other than being interested in UFOs, that is.

I didn't know tha director. I have to watched the movie two times to say it is a great job, to understand it. And I will be seen it in the future much more times. A movie that you never forget. Very atmosferic, very touching. Incredible ending. Just watch it! The caracters are like realistic way of surreal happenings. Surrealustic movie, very touching and a real drama. First I thought it was a science fiction film, then I realise it was much much more. Much more intelligent, much more Lynch in it. Impossible to describe. Ineed to watch it more times, incredible from the start to the ending

8 stars out of 10.