Review of Afternoons of Solitude: A Captivating Perspective on Bullfighting by Albert Serra

      Note: This interview was initially published as part of our coverage for the 2024 NYFF. "Afternoons of Solitude" will be released in theaters on June 27.

      When J. Hoberman included game 6 of the 1986 World Series in his Village Voice year-end list, it marked one of the earliest and most persuasive efforts to elevate live sports to the level of cinema. A game encapsulates the intense rise and fall of emotions along with a cast of characters, resembling a compelling narrative. Furthermore, one can delve into its visual structure: a televised event is a display of live editing that seamlessly integrates close-ups and wide shots, adhering to the conventions of offscreen space and eyeline matching.

      To reference something UK-centric: Albert Serra’s latest film, "Afternoons of Solitude," bears more resemblance to two hours of Sky Sports than one might anticipate from the director known for "Story of My Death." Adhering to the conventions of often-celebrated observational and direct cinema, much of the film’s duration involves long takes that examine Spanish bullfighting arenas, focusing on Andrés Roca Rey, a Peruvian "exemplar" of the sport, engulfed in extreme, ceremonial brutality. While contemporary audiences are acutely aware of the constructed nature of documentaries, Serra’s notable achievement in this film is achieving an objective viewpoint. Under the direction of DP Arthur Tort, the camera does not intrude, and the editing avoids close-ups that force us to express disapproval, fostering a connection that leads us to acknowledge, “this is terrible, isn’t it?” It serves as an anthropological examination of a tradition warranting both our respect and critique, being a condemnation of something both barbaric and ultimately ludicrous. Roca, depicted in a powerful stance with his focused, vulnerable gaze mirroring that of the unfortunate bull, embodies both the hero and the villain, though those labels do not quite apply here. Sculpturally framed, he exists monumentally in cinematic space.

      In brief segments that frame the bouts in the ring, Serra maintains the group dynamics he previously orchestrated in "Pacifiction" and "The Death of Louis XIV" (albeit employing only one camera this time), as Roca is transported in a well-sprung SUV to the rings, accompanied by his managers and match-day aides. With his composed demeanor and relaxed, attractive eyes, he resembles a gangster or a rebellious young aristocrat from a Visconti movie, while the ensuing mundane conversations are both trivial and revealing: Roca is reassured of his greatness, invincibility, and divine favor (a significant theme in the film), pampered like a needy child.

      Filmed over several years after the pandemic, Serra structures the film by alternating short moments of relaxation with lengthy sequences in the ring, where the ochre sand stings the eyes like a glimpse of the sun following sharp cuts from indoor settings. The film grows repetitive, but in a captivating manner, tracing the process of subduing the bull, wherein Roca provokes and exhausts it before delivering the fatal blow with his sword. The raw violence and physical risks involved are striking, yet there is no pleasurable thrill derived from it, aided by the absence of reverse shots of the paying, cheering crowd. The conventional distant shots typical of live sports form our primary viewpoint, creating a sense of confinement as we observe a man both nurturing and degrading himself in a quest to uncover his primal savagery, reenacting the "survival of the fittest" scenario that established homo sapiens as the dominant civilization.

      As a note of caution: this may not be Serra’s most intellectually stimulating work, which makes it less satisfying compared to his other films. However, it does achieve a remarkable clarity of intent and rhetorical focus unlike his previous efforts, following up on "Pacifiction" to illustrate how naturally his style and themes complement a portrayal of the contemporary world (his forthcoming diplomatic investigation, "Out of this World," also builds anticipation for such work). The discussions and ideas typical of his work are not the central focus here; the aim is pure immersion, more frequently associated with his gallery installations, accomplished as though he were the bull itself, instinctively enthralled by the matador’s crimson cloth.

      "Afternoons of Solitude" had its premiere at the San Sebastian Film Festival and will be featured at the New York Film Festival.