AFTERNOONS OF SOLITUDE Luminaries

In his mesmerizing latest, uncompromising Catalan filmmaker Albert Serra (PACIFICTION, AFI FEST 2022) enters the Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza in Seville, Spain with established contemporary bullfighter Andrés Roca Rey to construct a documentary portrait teeming with confrontations. A primitive, brutal and highly ritualized custom, each corrida de toros will either see the violent death of the bullfighter or the bull. In the van to and from the event, and in extended, frequently close-up sequences of the bullfight itself, brutality is beauty, masculinity is pageantry, fear is respect and tradition is the performance. Contributing another fantastic exaltation of excess, Serra’s tremendously engaging, though patient, documentary treats its audience to an astonishing and visceral experience, wherein preconceived notions of bullfighting are irrelevant when our tormented hero is face-to-face with death. Brimming with intense emotion and exhilaration, AFTERNOONS OF SOLITUDE is an unforgettable examination of a centuries-old conflict between human skill and animal nature. –Malin Kan