Satanás (2007) Reviews

• Descent into Hell

  Dilated_Aperture2007-03-05

  I just saw the world premier last night at the Miami International Film Festival with my wife. From the opening scene, I had the feeling that things were only going to get worse. This is the story of several people in Bogota, Columbia, set in the mid-1980's. It follows each of them into what I can only describe as a descent into hell, climaxing in a convergence of their worlds with an ending that will stay with viewer for a long time. This film has a sense of realism that reminds me of other films such as Amores Perros and City of God (Cidade de Deus). There are some very graphic scenes of violence and there may be some who are offended, as it decidedly breaks many taboos. The name is Satanás, meaning Satan, so do not delude yourself into thinking there are any high or happy moments. The tagline reads 'Every city has its demons'; believe it. In spite of it's dark subject matter, the film is still very effective. There are some weaknesses, mostly from a technical standpoint, but the story is strong enough to make up for these. The other weakness is that the film rambles on for a while, so the viewer is not quite sure where the story is going, or even if it is going to end abruptly. But the director and writer had a purpose, and that is to bring us to the end. The climax brings everything into strong focus, and you see that the rambling is, in effect, the build-up. I believe this film has universal appeal. This film could have been shot in any major city in the world. In fact, the director did such a good job in filming this, that I forgot where the movie was taking place. I gave it the highest vote in the audience award, and this film deserves to win it.

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• An impressive film from first time filmmaker

  tcdonahue-12008-04-29

  SATANÁS is a very controlled, mature film, but not for the faint of heart. It's definitely a film to digest slowly, because it deals with such a powerful subject matter: human nature. It is a thought provoking film (it grows with you day by day) even though I can see how it polarizes audiences - some love it and some hate it (because it can be disturbing). It is undeniable that the filmmakers did a wonderful job in building up the tension; the last 30 minutes of the film are absolutely brilliant. Even though the three stories seem at first hand to be unconnected, they are not. The three characters are battling with internal demons and it is through all of them that the thesis of the film is manifested. I want to add that the cast is impressive.

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• There… But for the Grace of God!.....

  KissEnglishPasto2016-07-31

  .........................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, COLOMBIA and ORLANDO, FL O.K…First...About the film: SATANAS is awesome! This has to be one of the 5 best Colombian films ever made! Well, Colombian-Slash-Mexican film, anyway… (As listed on IMDb!) In the leading role of "SATAN", is Mexican actor Damian Alcazar, who gives us an eerily haunting performance as a tormented Colombian who did two active tours of duty with the U.S. army in Vietnam. He is obviously suffering from PTSD…but he was mustered out of the military and left the U.S. long before anyone was officially diagnosed, or much less, received any treatment for this condition. Alcazar's Colombian accent is spot on!…So much so that if I had not known he was Mexican, I would have assumed he was Colombian! (If you speak Spanish, you'll undoubtedly notice!) SATANAS, probably more than any other film I have ever seen in my life, really hit close to home…LITERALLY! Why do I say this? Well, this based on true events film, is about the massacre that occurred in the Pozzetto restaurant in Chapinero, Bogota, Colombia, on December 4th, 1986. To be precise, the restaurant is on the corner of the Carrera Septima (7th) and Calle 62. My mother lived in an apartment not more than 2 blocks from the Pozzetto. It was, perhaps, my Mom's default setting restaurant! We have eaten there on numerous occasions, both before and after the horrendous 1986 deed! Yes, despite the gruesome massacre there, where 20 people were killed, the place is still open! It really occurs to me just how lucky my Mom, my wife and I were that we had not decided to eat there that fateful evening…..There….But for the grace of God….!!! Throughout the entire film, you can really feel the mounting pressure Delgado (Alcazar's character) exerts on himself leading up to his total implosion. Teresa Gutierrez, who passed in 2010, was excellent as the rather overbearing, but concerned and clueless, mother, Blanca. Gutierrez is probably known to everyone in Colombia over 15, but is pretty much unknown outside of Colombia. The Director, Andres Baiz, who hails from CALI, oís!...In his directorial debut…despite overseeing and putting together a truly outstanding Colombian film, has only gotten the directorial nod again on 2 occasions: La Cara Oculta (2011) and ROA (2013)! It is impossible for me to wrap my head around this situational anomaly! Does this penalizing directors for making excellent films only happen in Colombia? Two other examples come to mind…Francisco Norden, after directing Condores No Entierran Todos los Dias in 1984, was not given another shot for 21 years! And Felipe Aljure, who directed La Gente de la Universal in 1991, was denied another turn until 2005! It seems the rest of the cast is Colombian and they do a fine job, perhaps with a couple exceptions. It is worth noting the cultural impact of this tragedy in Colombia. If you ask people here to name one example of a mass shooting where a deranged lone gunman walks into a public place and begins shooting total strangers randomly and indiscriminately, if the person can provide one example, and most people certainly can, "The Pozetto Massacre", will, undoubtedly, be it! In the USA, it is rare that 3 months go by without a crime of this nature. Considering that Colombia, in general terms, is a country that definitely has much more violent crime than the U.S., I think it is no coincidence that practically the only random mass shooting, not rooted in some sort of mafia, guerrilla, paramilitary or personal vendetta, involves a Colombian with PTSD who served in Vietnam with the U.S. Military! This fact really needs to be looked at and analyzed extremely carefully! SATANAS is a must see movie for many different people for a myriad of different reasons! 9 Stars! ENJOY!/DISFRUTELA!

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• Commentary on society

  SpannersGerm6692014-07-07

  To start off with, this movie isn't for the faint of heart. This is a raw portrayal in what society has become. How some of us can be put on the outer, how we feel like we don't fit in, and what someone will do once all the frustration has come to boiling point. This is a very scary film. Its from the perspective of three characters, whose stories ultimately intertwine in a very tragic finale. A War veteran English teacher who lives with his mother and feels like he has no purpose. A young female who works for a syndicate who specialize in robbing men at nightclubs, and a priest who is disillusioned with the life he has chosen. None of these stories are feel good, but feel to have much more of a purpose than simply depressing the audience. Brilliant performances from the actors allow the viewer to invest time in their dilemmas, that most can relate to. The inevitable time bomb is what makes you feel that the whole experience is tragic, but a message that can't be ignored, especially in a world where these sorts of tragedies happen far too often! Brilliant cinema that everyone should check out!

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• Convincing tales of descent into madness

  TdSmth52009-09-21

  Satanas (Satan) begins with a women confessing in church, she is worried because she can't provide food for her children. The priest offers to get some food for them. When he returns with food they are all gone. The next time he sees her, she's in church at the foot of a statue of St. Michael and covered in blood. She tells him that she has freed her children. Then we meet Eliseo a lonely penniless man who finds refuge in literature. He was a former soldier for the US, at times seems generous but perhaps his generosity is because he is just impatient with people. He's a hygiene-freak, constantly cleaning himself with hand sanitizer. He lives with his mom but their relationship is just about hurting each other verbally in every exchange they have. He plays chess regularly but doesn't want to talk to his partner. He spends a lot of time in libraries and gets along well with a librarian who calls him "doctor", who respects him and isn't nosy. He is also a private English tutor and tutors a beautiful well-to-do teen girl. Our third main character is an attractive woman who sells coffee in a large central meat and produce market. She seems depressed, she's better than the people she has to deal with: butchers, produce sellers. One day she is approached by two sleazy guys with a business proposition. The deal is that she will go out to clubs, hook up with a guy, get him drugged so that her business partners can rob him. In exchange she gets a cut of the money and to live in a nice apartment. At first this makes her sick, but eventually she enjoys as she also becomes close to one of her partners. For the most part all these stories are unconnected but all these characters undergo a deep transformation. The priest visits the infanticidal mother in jail, but she is drawn to evil- pasting her cell wall with newspaper articles of atrocities, she tries to seduce the priest, and reads biblical passages that makes reference to the devil. The priest in turn is having an affair with the church maid and decides to leave the priesthood for her. The attractive woman ends up one day raped by a taxi driver and his associate and she decides she wants ultimate revenge. And Eliseo transformation is more of a slow descent into madness. He is anti-social and good-natured. But his good nature is tested again and again forcing him to leave it behind. He becomes much more confrontational and downright misanthropic. One day he locks himself up in his room to read Jeckyll and Hyde. When he comes out he is transformed. He doesn't put up with annoyances anymore. He takes his gun, some ammo, then withdraws all the money out from his bank. He pays a visit to everyone he knows. Then he walks into a restaurant. Other patrons include the former priest and his lover, the rape victim who know is a server at the restaurant. At the end we find out that this movie is based on a novel about a real life massacre that took place years ago in Colombia. This movie is quite good. All the stories are believable and well acted. The pace slows down quite a bit when it comes to Eliseo's story, but that is because he is seemingly such a measured and calculating man. But inside trouble was brewing. The portrayal of his madness is pretty good. He is an introvert. He doesn't scream and make scenes. He absorbs it all into himself until one day he can't take it anymore. Overall, a very good and enjoyable movie. A success for Colombian film-making. I didn't know the background of it or where it would go so it was very interesting to see how it all turned out. The music is good, it keeps things tense. The cinematography is well done also. While it may seem the stories are disconnected, they are not insofar as all these people become someone they are not. It may seem that their coming together at the end is forced. At the same time, if you think about it and were to pick some people from a restaurant and follow their lives, you may find something akin to what this movie shows.

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